


Shines Within

by GracieLovesYou



Category: Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Aphrodisiacs, Artificial Intelligence Nanami Chiaki, Awkward Flirting, Canon Compliant, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff and Angst, I know it doesn't look like it but it is, I promise it's canon compliant, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Komaeda Nagito Being Komaeda Nagito, Multi, POV Komaeda Nagito, POV Nanami Chiaki, Temporary Character Death, Ultimate Hope Hinata Hajime, no beta we die like men, non-compliant with dr3 future arc, ok in retrospect maybe it's not so canon compliant, ooc Hinata Hajime, technically
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-01
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:34:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 28,758
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24489802
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GracieLovesYou/pseuds/GracieLovesYou
Summary: Something about him had Komaeda encapsulated from the very first moment.Something caused the game to change, allowed Hope to blossom. But good things couldn't last forever where Monokuma was involved.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Kamukura Izuru, Hinata Hajime/Kamukura Izuru/Komaeda Nagito/Nanami Chiaki, Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito, Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito/Nanami Chiaki, Hinata Hajime/Nanami Chiaki, Kamukura Izuru/Komaeda Nagito, Kamukura Izuru/Nanami Chiaki, Koizumi Mahiru & Saionji Hiyoko, Komaeda Nagito/Nanami Chiaki, Kuzuryu Fuyuhiko/Pekoyama Peko, Mioda Ibuki/Tsumiki Mikan/Ultimate Imposter, Nidai Nekomaru/Owari Akane, Sonia Nevermind/Soda Kazuichi/Tanaka Gundham
Comments: 39
Kudos: 128





	1. Transfixation

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone! This is my first Danganronpa fic, and also my first post on this site, so please go easy on me! ^-^ I've worked and reworked this so many times over, with different events, from different perspectives, and I honestly don't know if I'll ever come up with something I'm fully happy with, but hopefully I've created something that you guys can enjoy!
> 
> Cross-posted on QuoteV of all places.
> 
> TWs:  
> -The implied/referenced rape/non-con is very brief  
> -Major character death, only as much as SDR2 characters stay dead  
> -Komaeda POV, including all the self-esteem issues that come from being Komaeda

Something about him had Komaeda encapsulated from the very first moment.

Maybe it was the sight of him, unconscious on the beach, passed out from frightful despair, deliciously awakening with confusing and wide-eyed reliance on Komaeda's assistance to orient him. Maybe it was the harmonic way he made introductions, speaking and acting in perfect complement to the other Ultimates as their bold personalities might have given someone else pause. Maybe it was the word _Hope_ that passed through his lips, turning the rest of Hinata's introduction to static as Komaeda was...

...tranfixed.

It came time for Komaeda's dreadful luck to kick in - for despair to strike in the form of a comically monochrome bear claiming to be their comically monochrome teacher's older brother. As they were summoned to the central island's park, Hinata stumbled slightly into Komaeda, sending more of a shiver through him than the sky's sudden and inexplicable shift towards dark and foreboding stormclouds. When the despairful situation was explained to the Ultimates, Komaeda caught a sliver of determination in the corner of Hinata's hazel eyes.

Within a sea of shock and horror of the intense calibre only a group of Ultimates would be able to muster, Hinata's face was an island of Hope.

There was something subtle about the Hope Hinata wielded. It hummed underneath his skin, only poking through in moments like these, invisible to those who were so occupied with their own tumultuous waters that land was too distant to dream of. Only Komaeda saw. Only he dared to clamber upon that island and roughen himself on the sand as everyone else melted away.

That Hope was so subtle that, even under its title, Hinata flew under the radar for candidacy as soon as Togami put himself forward to lead them all. Komaeda, affronted - but of course, not showing it so obviously - smiled his creepy, consider-my-words-carefully, smile and offered Hinata's name forward, Koizumi close behind, though borne more from her doubt of Togami's capabilities than faith in Hinata's.

The debate was not long-lasting: Hinata withdrew himself immediately.

There was no hesitance in Togami's leadership, to say the least. Komaeda sent his threatening note, and the idea of a party was born immediately after. Nanami volunteered for cleaning duty before Komaeda could have everyone draw straws, but he wasn't dissuaded. If anything, the fact that he wasn't on cleaning duty only added another layer of complexity to the case that the Ultimates would push through to burn even brighter. He didn't strictly need to enter the old building anyway.

There were plenty of substances unsafe for consumption to be found in Rocketpunch Market. All Komaeda had to do was wave a bottle of one around in front of Hanamura, threaten to roll it underneath the old building and use it on someone's food during the party, and the Ultimate Cook was spurred into action. With any luck, that poison would land in Komaeda's meal, and everything would begin.

Things seemed to be going to plan. Nanami had done a fine job setting things up, using a carpet to cover the unsightly gaps in the dining room's floorboards all the way to the room's edge. Tables were arranged towards the centre of the room, a great number of candles atop, with lots of space to walk around. It was perfect for a buffet-style meal. However, when Hanamura brought out the food, his plan became very apparent. Food was already plated, so that if he wanted to slip something lethal into Komaeda's food and no one else's, it would have been easier than ever. Hanamura gave him a wary look at he disappeared back into the kitchen, Mioda following him.

The Ultimate Light Music Club Member returned with something that made Komaeda want to bash his own head in. The plates were obvious enough, but what Mioda carried in her hands was just plainly overt.

Personalised glasses of punch.

All Komaeda had to do was take the one with his name written on it; he would be sacrificed and the game would be set in motion. If only he could...

Wait.

What?

Why was Hinata taking two drinks from Mioda? Why was he neglecting the orange juice and lifting the milky white, coconut-flavoured concoction to his own lips? Why was he glancing at Komaeda out of the corner of his eye like the precipice of a mountain atop his lonely island of Hope as he downed the whole drink...?

Why was he setting that glass down, planting a hand on the table like he needed it for balance? Why was he...?

Why was Komaeda anxiously following Hinata out of the dining room, ignoring the worried looks the latter received from Togami and Koizumi as his face steadily reddened? Why was he right behind Hinata entering the cool, musty storage room, the Ultimate Hope doubling over and backing up against the wall?

"Why did you drink it?" he asked like a stubborn child. "That glass had my name on it."

Hinata's head lolled back, face flushed with a dangerous fever. He gave Komaeda a weak smile. "Looked tasty. Sorry. Kinda thought I'd be sleepier by now, though..."

Why the hell...?

Komaeda got down and shook Hinata by the shoulders, eliciting a pained moan as the boy's eyes slid shut. Komaeda shook him again.

"I don't understand, why the hell would you do that?"

Was this his luck at play? Had Hinata mistaken their glasses and drank the poison by accident? Could the situation even be salvaged?

Hinata let out a whine. "Stop shaking me...head hurts..."

Komaeda had half a mind to oblige before Hinata jolted dangerously, at which point Komaeda laid his hands firmly over Hinata's shoulders and held him there.

Hinata's brows furrowed, as though confused. "How come...I'm not...sleepy? Just... _warm_..." He tugged at his own tie, loosening it and undoing one of his shirt buttons, then another, then...

Wow, his chest was flushed just like his face. That couldn't be healthy.

"Thought it was...supposed to be...sedative...?" Hinata mumbled.

No, not mumbled. His voice was weak, but not in a drifitng, mumbling way.

He was _gasping_.

Komaeda's eyes widened when the inside of Hinata's burning hot thigh glided against his knee. Their positions weren't exactly tasteful right now, with Hinata splayed against the wall and the floor, Komaeda practically straddling him with one knee between his legs and both hands holding him down-

That had been unintentional. Subconscious at best. Just a moment ago his biggest concern had been Hinata _dying_ , but, well. It seemed that somewhere along the way, the drink had been laced with, not a lethal poison, but...

"An aphrodisiac..." Komaeda growled. Hinata was under the influence of an aphrodisiac.

"Oh...!" Hinata gasped, sliding down so that something beyond inner thigh touched Komaeda's knee. "That explains...a lot...! Came from...Hanamura-kun's cottage...after all..." Hinata keened again, head rolling back as his eyes screwed shut and he lifted a hand to his mouth. "I'm gonna...feel like an...idiot when this...is over, huh?"

Komaeda inched backwards, but Hinata followed, not allowing him to break contact for more than a second. All the little shift had done was slide Hinata more firmly _underneath_ Komaeda than in front of him. Komaeda had to catch a wandering hand and keep it far away from the place it had been venturing, revealing to him just how _pliant_ Hinata was in this state. He didn't seem bothered about the position or the minor manhandling or whatever else - 

Stop. Komaeda needed to stop that line of thinking right now, because the next place it led would have been taking advantage of someone who was unwillingly subjected to the effects of an aphrodisiac. And really, it had been _Komaeda's_ fault this had even happened. The least he could do was take responsibility...

This time it was Hinata who caught a stray hand.

"No, don't..." he gasped, "...I can just...ride this out..."

"Isn't it painful for you?" Komaeda asked cautiously.

"No shit... But I'd be taking...advantage of you...if I made you...take care of me...right now..."

 _Hinata_ was worried about taking advantage? That was ridiculous. It was laughable. "But it's my fault you even drank it..."

"Doesn't mean...you owe me...anything..." Hinata moaned, his stubbornness at odds with the submissive language of his voice and body. He was holding himself back, if the pained expression was anything to go by, and given how _close_ the two of them were already, the idea of what exactly Hinata was suppressing sent Komaeda's head spinning.

"You wouldn't be taking advantage," Komaeda finally admitted, to which Hinata's mouth twisted into a little smirk. Rich, for someone laying on the floor with his legs apart and shirt half-open.

"Are you...implying something...?" the Ultimate Hope asked cheekily, and then Komaeda became the redder of the pair. "C'mon, you've...only known me...a few days..." Hinata's lip shone with a stray trail of drool that Komaeda thumbed away without thinking. The lips were warm, soft, inviting- "Besides, I'm getting the feeling..."

The lights cut out.

"...we're not gonna...be alone for long..."

The blackout was total. The boarded windows didn't let a drop of light in, and Komaeda determined that if he'd had the opportunity to prepare a place like this instead of Nanami, he'd have made use of that darkness for something a little more complex than simple poison.

The door to the storage room creaked open, low light blossomed throuh the cracks, and in came a short and stout silhouette, weilding a portable stove in one hand and an iron skewer in the other.

Komaeda had underestimated him. Of course poison would have been too obvious. Hanamura may not have been the most sly person, but he was an Ultimate in the end.

Hanamura raised the skewer. "Get away from h-him...!" he warned in what was probably supposed to be a brave voice. "Oh dear, tell me I-I'm not too late...!"

Hinata moaned and tugged at Komaeda's sleeve. "Don't die, 'kay...? Kinda defeats the point...if you get skewered anyway..."

This was troubling. If it had been Komaeda to drink the aphrodisiac, or if Hinata had actually been sedated, then Hanamura wouldn't have to worry about witnesses. As it stood, this case wouldn't be very difficult to solve.

"I-I won't let you kill H-Hinata-kun! Even if that means I'll get executed right after... Everyone is safer with you gone!"

Well that was bad. If Hanamura just killed him here and let Hinata tell everyone the truth, there would be no strife for the Ultimates to endure, nothing to make their Hope burn any brighter!

"Now hold on a minute," Komaeda started calmly. "Wouldn't it be better if-?"

"No killing!" Hinata cried out, hips bucking involuntarily. His fingers snaked their way between Komaeda's, lacing their hands together. "Put the...the meat bone...on the skewer...the meat..." he moaned, "the stabby meat thing down...! G- _God_ , your stuff is potent..." Hinata's eyes squeezed shut. "Makes my brain all screwy... You better not use this stuff without consent under normal circumstances...!" His small sliver of outrage was undercut by the succeeding moan. "But anyway...

"Look how he's totally not murdering me! That's hot...! I mean, it's good. Not killing people is real good...especially not killing _me_ , because I'm a big fan of living... What was I saying?"

Hanamura didn't lower his weapon. "B-but he said that he would do it...e-even if I prevent a murder tonight, he'll just keep trying until something happens! S-so the safest thing to do..."

"Is let the...Togami guy handle it! He really knows how to take charge...which is super hot by the way, but don't tell 'im I said that because I think Mioda's already on that..." Hinata's hand squeezed Komaeda's. "I mean, he came up with this party idea because he wanted to keep an eye on everyone, right? Maybe it wasn't airtight, but it's a pretty solid idea...

"A-and Nanami-san, too... She's always helping out... Like when she made sure Hanamura-kun wasn't making murder drinks, and when she put candles all in the dining room in case of a blackout like this, and I felt super flattered when she asked me to help out..."

So Nanami and Hinata had planned this together, it seemed. Komaeda should have known better than to underestimate that pair. They had been hanging out a lot. Both of them seemed very competent.

"Y-you mean...what Nanami-san said about how if someone poisoned the food tonight, it would be an easy way to point suspicion at me...was because she _knew_ what was happening?" came Hanamura's surprised voice. "W-well, it does sound more obvious in retrospect... I just thought she was expressing her concern for me!"

Hinata nodded from where he lay, neck straining with the movement. "Lemme guess... You gave Pekoyama-san food poisoning and used a stool from the kitchen to trip the breaker and cause a blackout, right? A-and you hid that skewer from Togami-kun inside the bone meat on the...on the meat bone...meat on the bone!" Hinata said triumphantly. "Used the fire doors and the portable stove to navigate in the dark without being seen, and came here to kill a drugged-up Komaeda-kun...except I drank it, not him. Whoops."

"How did you...?" Hanamura sounded to be in awe. Komaeda was more speechless.

"Anyway...I _think_ Souda-kun's got to be checking the breaker any second-"

Like magic, the lights came back on. Hanamura dropped his skewer to the ground with a wooden clatter, and turned off the portable stove.

"Guess it's a good thing I was conscious for this...e-even if I wasn't prepared for this kind of drug right now..."

But he _had_ been prepared to be sedated? Just how far was Hinata willing to go to put a stop to Komaeda's plans? To prevent the first act of the Killing Game?

Hanamura was wide-eyed, hands over his mouth as he stared reverently at the Ultimate Hope. "You prepared everything...just to keep me and Komaeda alive? That's...!"

"...the Ultimate Hope at work," Komaeda finished, "right?"

Hinata lightly pushed at Komaeda's chest. "Don't go flattering me like it'll change my mind, even if you're as pretty as you are..." Komaeda obligingly backed up and allowed Hinata to slide up and lean against the wall, rather than lay on the floor. His head rocked back and thudded on the wall, so that Hinata's gaze struck Komaeda through the narrowed slits of a tilted face's eyelids. "I said I could hold out, so all I gotta do is suck it up...!"

"... _Suck_...?" said Hanamura with shock and anticipation. "Does that mean you'll...?"

"Don't even think about it!" Komaeda chirped with a cheerful-threatening grin, shifting to put himself right between Hinata and Hanamura. The Ultimate Cook paled and backed away.

"I-I'll just get back to the p-party!" With that, Hanamura was gone.

Warm hands snaked around Komaeda's mid-section. He tensed up as Hinata's sultry voice came low and close behind him. "How _altruistic_ of you to defend me like that...unless you've got..." another whine, accompanied by a miniscule buck of the hips, which nearly toppled Komaeda, "ulterior motives, perhaps? Well, it's still a 'no' from me, if you're into heeding rejection."

Could Hinata really say that when he was practically draped over Komaeda like he was? He had to be teasing at this point. Well, Komaeda didn't want to make assumptions...

"I understand," he bowed his head, "even in this state you couldn't possibly find a degenerate like me appealing."

"Of all the things you could be putting in my mouth, why did it have to be _words_?" Hinata whined, pressing himself flat against Komaeda's back. His weight was unsteady - clearly lacking the co-ordination and presence of mind to hold himself up completely. Komaeda felt a bit like a crutch right now, if not for the fact that Hinata's breath was ghosting over the exposed part of his neck. "It's because you shouldn't feel obligated to help me out, and I should be in a clear enough state of mind to say 'no' if I really need to. And besides..." There was the tiniest lick on Komaeda's neck, and an accompanying moan from Hinata, "...we should at least get to know each other first, no?"

To say Komaeda was disappointed would be to imply that he'd been expecting anything more. Sure, perhaps he could have thanked his luck for bringing such a situation to him - it was certainly more fortunate than finding Hinata dead after drinking a _lethal_ drug in Komaeda's place, after all - but that didn't mean he was owed anything. It was fortune enough just to witness Hinata's behaviour under the effects of an aphrodisiac, and to do anything more would most certainly be taking advantage.

Well, he _was_ a debased, degenerate, trash, shame of a human being, wasn't he? And for all Hinata's stubborn words, there was no hiding what his body wanted right now. All Komaeda had to do was test his own boldness - it didn't matter if Hinata ended up hating him, if it meant he was helping out right _now_ , right?

He pried the clinging arms off of himself and turned to face Hinata head on.

"And what if I wasn't the type to heed rejection, Hinata-kun?" he asked lowly, with the most serious expression he could muster, just itching to see Hinata's reaction.

"Then I guess...I wouldn't be capable of stopping you..." Hinata answered, but his tone had shifted. It wasn't playful, teasing or inviting at all. He was almost despondent. Eyes were averted, and despite the still-heavy breathing, Komaeda could tell that Hinata was more subdued. He inched into himself, making Hinata look smaller and weaker than he was. It was like...

...like a prey animal anticipating its own demise at the claws of a predator.

Well, Komaeda might have been a disgusting pervert, but he wasn't a monster. This wasn't the kind of despair that would create a stronger Hope. He got the message loud and clear.

Komaeda stood up and walked to the door. "I'll get you some water."

So he did. The rest of the night passed about as eventfully as one would expect. Once Tanaka realised that Hinata was missing, and made some utterance about the foul demons at play, Hanamura tugged Togami aside and gave him the full story, at which point Komaeda arrived and filled in some blanks, and recommended they go to Nanami for her perspective on things as well. Togami's outrage was tangible, not to mention loud if the way Mioda held both hands over her ears was any indication.

Seeing everyone's outraged reactions to Komaeda's true nature was intriguing. Only in retrospect did it dawn on him how mundane Hinata's realisation had been. Granted, he had missed the cackling and extreme declarations and every other method of Komaeda putting distance between himself and the Ultimates - but he had known about the plan to get killed and kickstart the Game. And yet, he'd barely questioned it. There was no shock, nor outrage. Hinata's focus had been on stopping him, but at no point did he question Komaeda's motivation.

Could it have been that they understood each other from the start?

Komaeda was not to be let out of anyone's sight. Pekoyama provided the rope that Souda, Nidai and Owari used to tie him up in the dining room. Monokuma arrived shortly to express his outrage that no one had died, spewing vague threats about their next, upcoming motive. Togami already had a plan in mind: a three-person buddy system. So long as two people remajned together should the third need to be alone for whatever reason, there would be someone aware of each person's location at all times. Having sixteen students, and Kuzuryuu showing no interest in teamwork, they ended up in five groups of three.

Mioda clung fervently to Togami and Tsumiki's arms; Owari and Nidai invited Pekoyama to train with them; Souda asked Sonia, who asked Tanaka to group up, so the three of them ended up together; Hanamura sidled up to Saionji and Koizumi with a devious look, after Nanami politely turned down their offer in favour of grouping up with Hinata. As the only group with two people, the Ultimate Gamer and the Ultimate Hope ended up with Komaeda in theirs, and so were also saddled with the duty of ensuring he didn't starve to death as well.

One other important aspect of the buddy system was that members of the same gender would sleep over during the nights. This way, there would always be two people together from a group, minimising separation and the chances of murder. It was a thorough plan from the Ultimate Affluent Progeny, to say the least. And thanks to it, Komaeda would be spending his nights in the same room as Hinata.

What luck!

Hinata didn't seem too pleased with the circumstances - he'd be spending his nights in the cold dining room with a complete piece of trash, after all - nor was he keen to discuss whatever had been implied between them thanks to that aphrodisiac once it had worn off. Apparently he was a lot more bashful when sober. He also seemed reluctant to even feed Komaeda - once again, he couldn't blame him; he wouldn't have been surprised if the others had decided to let him starve, after all - but eventually did so with minimal complaints.

Nanami was as quiet as ever, most notably speaking up to question how Hinata was able to peel his oranges to cleanly while hers came off in haphazard chunks of zest that left orange juice dripping all over her fingers. Hinata's incredulous response was almost comical as he handed Nanami a neatly-peeled orange and took hers, doing his best to salvage the mess.

Komaeda could have sworn he heard the word, "Blasphemous," being muttered under Hinata's breath.

Aside from nights, Hinata and Nanami spent most of their time together, in the old building or elsewhere. Apparently they gamed a lot, or hung out with the other groups. Komaeda tried not to be jealous. It wasn't like he deserved their attention more than anyone else - in fact, it made perfect sense they'd want to spend time strengthening their bonds with each other rather than Komaeda. But still, Komaeda was a disgusting, jealous, envious person, and so he cherished the time he got to spend with Hinata and Nanami.

Namely, the nights, during which cool air seeped through the floorboard gaps underneath the carpet and sent an unconscious Hinata snuggling up into a semi-conscious Komaeda's side for warmth. He had brought bedding from both of their cottages, but still Hinata rolled up to Komaeda, totally defenceless and unaware, in opposition to his more guarded demeanour during the day. Komaeda did his best to keep Hinata warm, though it would have been easier with free hands, in repayment for feeding him every meal.

No, that wasn't true. Komaeda was thanking his luck for sending Hinata his way once again. Even keeping himself awake each night to keep a vigilant watch was just an excuse to watch Hinata. He admitted as much when questioned on his sleeping. Komaeda explained how he'd much rather sleep while Hinata and Nanami were both gone, so that he could be awake and savour every moment they did spend in his presence. The troubled looks Hinata and Nanami exchanged were far from surprising.

Though as Komaeda came to realise, there was slightly more to cuddling with Hinata than one might have anticipated. It happened one morning, when Hinata's head had come to rest on Komaeda's bony abdomen, that the Ultimate Hope jolted awake gasping for breath.

When pressed, the most Hinata would give was an embarrassed utterance about, "the last time," he had woken up with someone like that.

Komaeda balled his fists up and tried not to think about who might have had the opportunity to sleep beside Hinata; to wrap their arms around him and squeeze him for breath; to plant the seed of despair that blossomed in his eyes that he would never admit were full of fear.

Komaeda thanked him for every meal, and one day Hinata replied, "You know, it'd be easier to eat if you used your own hands. Are you making me feed you on purpose, Komaeda-kun?"

Komaeda's skinny wrists slipped out of the rope and he lunged for Hinata, tackling the Ultimate Hope to the floor. "If you knew I could slip out at any time, it wasn't exactly clever of you to let me get so close, now was it?" In a reversal of their positions that night of the party, it was Komaeda whose chest pressed against Hinata's back, one arm wrapped over both of Hinata's and his midsection to keep him from wriggling free, and the other ghosting over the skin of Hinata's neck. "Did you forget this was a Killing Game, Hinata-kun?"

"I didn't forget," Hinata replied, more concerned by the playful teasing than the unspoken, yet crystal clear, threat, "and if you were going to do something to me you'd have done it while I was asleep."

"Who says I didn't?" Komaeda asked in a whisper, letting his hand come to rest on Hinata's shoulder. With the restraining arm, he rubbed a thumb gently up and down the outside of Hinata's arm. "You wouldn't remember if you were asleep."

Hinata didn't tense up. He wasn't concerned at all, simply resting in Komaeda's grip like he would rest in a bed. "Obviously you didn't. I'm pretty sure I'm alive right now."

Oh. For all his provocative implications under that drug's influence, a sober Hinata was quite oblivious. "I wasn't talking about killing you, Hinata-kun, not that I'd be opposed to you using me to start up the Killing Game if you so desired..." Komaeda bent his head down over Hinata's exposed neck, and laid there a gentle peck. _Now_ , Hinata shivered. "But you've been so tense lately, I'd be more than happy for you to use me to relieve some of that tension, especially since I'm likely the cause of most of it..."

Hinata stretched himself out, regaining some of the leverage Komaeda had taken from him by placing more weight into Komaeda's grip than his own balance. "Do you mean to tell me you've been making me feed you, even though you're perfectly capable of using your hands, with the hopes of getting me frustrated enough to _do_ something? You're certainly forward, Komaeda-kun. Do I need to remind you how little time you've known me for?"

"Isn't it enough to know that you're the Ultimate Hope?"

"What if I weren't?"

In that moment, Komaeda was so taken aback that his grip slackened and Hinata slipped free. But, rather than clambering away, he remained close, turning so that they faced each other and resting his hands on Komaeda's shoulders. Hazel eyes met grey.

"You'd still be you... The person who saved mine and Hanamura-kun's lives. The person who strengthens his bonds with all of the Ultimates. The person who never succumbs to Despair no matter how much it clouds your world. How could you be anything other than the Ultimate Hope?"

Hinata shook his head with a sad little smile that Komaeda couldn't understand. "Whatever you say."

Then Nanami arrived and they moved apart.

Komaeda wasn't able to answer Monokuma's island-wide summons, but he knew well enough that it would be their new motive. As Hinata and Nanami relayed to him, the groups would participate in an alternating schedule to guard the motive - an arcade game, apparently - during regular shifts, to prevent anybody from playing it. Hinata and Nanami took eight to ten, morning and evening. It was after their very first shift, when they returned to the old building with Komaeda's breakfast, that he knew they had already played it together.

Their expressions betrayed them.

"You two have this strange look on your faces... Could it be that you've finally decided to kill me?" Komaeda guessed.

Nanami solemnly shook her head. "I don't think I could ever kill someone...it'd just be too much effort to clean it up afterwards."

"Nope, we just betrayed everyone's trust by playing the game that we all promised not to play." Hinata sighed. "Aren't we just the worst?"

"The most awful," Nanami agreed with a yawn.

Something about their nonchalance was unsettling. Not only had they played the motive game, but they admitted what they'd done without hesitance. Was it possible that it had completely failed to motivate them?

"I guess, if anybody could withstand a motive like that, it would be the Ultimate Gamer and the Ultimate Hope, right?" Komaeda said. "Assuming you're really not planning a murder."

Nanami gave a lazy shrug, pulling her hood up. "I think it's less to do with our nature, and more to do with luck... This motive was very specifically targeted. There's only about three people who would be affected by learning the information hidden in the game, and even then as long as it happened under a controlled circumstance, maybe with a mediator, then there'd be no murder to worry about."

So calm, so controlled. Komaeda truly admired these Ultimates. No, he admired _all_ Ultimates. What he felt for these ones was...different.

They were invited to a beach party. Strictly speaking, only the girls had been invited, but Nanami didn't seem to bothered about bringing Hinata along with her. It took some convincing, but Togami agreed to take Owari and Pekoyama's place, accompanying Nidai for the three-to-six shift that afternoon, so that the girls could attend Sonia's party. Hanamura was also present, despite not having been invited, but the burgers he cooked up at the diner were enough to buy his stay. He had also brought the confeito Hinata had requested a few days ago, as a gift for Saionji, who had been missing more traditional candy since arriving here.

How thoughtful.

Komaeda was only released by Monomi in the aftermath of everything - they hadn't restrained him since he'd taken his own ropes off, but still agreed to keep him inside the old building for the sake of everyone else. Monomi's arrival was simply the spur to make his way outside, into the fresh night air at Jabberwock Park, where tensions were colliding.

Everyone had at some point gathered where Koizumi and Kuzuryuu, of all people, wept in each other's arms, after Hinata and Nanami had shared the game's story first with the former, then the latter. Then arrived Monokuma, who was grabbed by Kuzuryuu's reckless hands, spouting threats and expressions of anger. A Monobeast came swooping down, and struck Pekoyama in Kuzuryuu's place.

Many fainted at the sight.

Hanamura, Souda, Mioda, Koizumi and Saionji weren't all that surprising. They seemed to be the squeamish types. Besides that, while Kuzuryuu wore a shielded front, his feelings for Pekoyama had been made apparent in the way he called out to her shortly before her bifurcation. Togami was an odd one. He typically seemed so composed, taking to leadership with ease, and yet he collapsed just like anyone else.

And, of course, Hinata passed out just like he had on the first day - only this time, Nanami caught his fall and laid him down.

Pekoyama was swept away, each half of her body held in the Monobeast's two talons, supposedly to a hospital if Monokuma was to be believed, before the fainted students's rousal. Nanami waved to Komaeda, from where she knelt by Hinata's side. He waved back.

Everybody seemed to be caring for the unconscious students in their own groups, while Owari and Nidai - now missing their third member, Pekoyama - attended Saionji, Koizumi, Hanamura and Kuzuryuu. Thanks to Tsumiki's nursing skills, Togami and Mioda were the first to awaken. Tanaka and Sonia weren't having much luck with Souda, but it was Hinata who came to last of all.

Komaeda supposed it made sense. Hinata was quite the heavy sleeeper, if his experience was anything to go by.

They never bothered tying him back up. He'd just escape again.

Nanami and Hinata shared a wavelength, if all of this time spent in a group together taught Komaeda anthing. He lived most of his days as an outsider to other people - either a usurper in the presence of Ultimates, or the only worthless person with the awareness not to be so disgustingly prideful - but something about those two indicated a deeper connection that Komaeda couldn't discern.

He wasn't envious. He knew his place. Did the serpent ever wish to be as Adam was to Eve? 

Hinata and Nanami spoke without words, like old friends who could read each other's thoughts from the barest expression. And together, they made a formidable unit against Monokuma's attempts at despair.

Komaeda had to ponder.

They found Pekoyama recovering in the new island's hospital, injuries fully visible in her semi-mechanical appearance. She had been slashed diagonally, shoulder to waist, and the mechanical adhesion between both halves looked like a sash. One arm and one leg - both on opposite sides - were entirely prosthetic, and the metal region reached all the way up on side of her neck, leaving Pekoyama's face untouched.

Her and Kuzuryuu's reconciliation was a moment of intense hope. At first she was apologetic for being so reckless as to become injured and therefore unable to continue protecting him - but after some meaningful words from Souda, Owari, Sonia and Hinata, Kuzuryuu found himself able to express the honest truth.

He loved her. She loved him. The pair was so fully devoted to each other that they hadn't been able to see it. Duty and protection didn't matter so long as they could live together. And for the record, he never thought of her as anything less than human.

Back in the hospital's lobby, Hinata said something interesting.

"What does it mean to be human?"

Nanami gave her same tired shrug as always. "Does it matter? I prefer video game characters anyway...they're easier to talk to."

"But they get so boring and predictable once you exhaust all of the dialogue options, don't they?" Komaeda asked.

"Maybe...but maybe real people are like that, too. Sometimes there's only so far you can take a scenario before everyone just starts repeating themselves. We just don't realise it because you can't replay life. At least...that's what I think."

"So even if everyone's just repeating the same script, you think that's human enough?" Hinata questioned.

She shrugged again. "I guess it has to be."


	2. Obfuscation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans fell apart in the blink of an eye.
> 
> Despair cackled with glee.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping to update this sooner, but I didn't have to time to be writing D:  
> So glad it's done, now!
> 
> Putting warnings for this chapter at the end, because spoilers!

The Despair Disease struck with no hesitation, and no mercy. Komaeda expected nothing less.

He and Hinata were sharing a cottage now, rather than the old building, Komaeda insistently taking the futon no matter how many times Hinata offered his bed away. Cold, night air still found a way to creep in, seeping througn the thin windows and the crack in the door with a broken latch, courtesy of Mioda, but it was much more comfortable with proper bedding to hide behind.

There had been a great deal of events bringing all of the Ultimates closer together. Togami was of the opinion that maintaining strong connections was the most important factor in withstanding despair - aside from acting under the guidance of an indisputable leader, of course - and so they had shared concerts, fireworks displays and all kinds of other performances. Komaeda was particularly fond of one of Mioda's original pieces, beautifully named, _I Swallowed a Blue Lion and Shat Out Its Heart_.

However, while Togami continued to fulfil his self-appointed duties, something about him was very noticeably off ever since the events of Pekoyama's injury.

Towards the end of their breakfast meetings, he would look ready to say something important, but abort his statement at the last second, concluding the meeting and excusing everybody instead. Komaeda didn't doubt that everyone had picked up on it, but it was Mioda who was most determined to do something about it.

And naturally, she went to Hinata for help. Who better to ask than the Ultimate Hope?

Yet another concert was held, this time with one audience member in mind. Mioda more or less dragged Hinata, Komaeda and Tsumiki, she and the former being the two who would get through to Togami, while the latter two were supposedly there for moral support. Tsumiki certainly seemed to keep Mioda in high spirits, but if anyone was a reassuring presence to Hinata, it should have been Nanami.

But Komaeda wasn't one to object to an Ultimate's request, much less to a scenario that involved spending time with Hinata.

This concert was notably different from the others Mioda had held, in the fact that she didn't touch an electric guitar. Rather, they had hauled keyboards from Rocketpunch Market - delayed by another fiasco of Tsumiki's tendency to trip over the tiniest things, in this case tangling herself up in black cords and wires - to the music venue, so that Mioda could exercise one of her other musical talents.

Sure, her recent work - ever since she had gone solo - had been exclusively metal, punk and screamo, but she was the Ultimate Light Music Club member for a reason. She played a classical piece with the precision and elegance of someone who had been born in front of a piano, who spoke with notes just as well as they could speak with a language.

And Togami, ever the man of high society, could hear what she said through the music.

It was the next morning, as Togami had prepared to confess whatever secret he had been keeping with no regrets, that a large section of their number had shown themselves to be afflicted by something that was doubtlessly Monokuma's doing.

Saionji thanked Hanamura for making breakfast, and expressed her delight at such wonderful cooking. He respectfully appreciated the compliment to his talent, with no ulterior motive or innuendo. Koizumi haughtily explained that men simply weren't capable of cooking any better than a woman could, and refused to even eat the food. Nidai didn't even arrive, in his stead a panicked Owari and a mildly calmer Kuzuryuu who had been unable to wake him from a coma-like state. Sonia spent the entire meeting stood facing the corner, shoulders hunched and face buried in her hands.

Tsumiki proved to be more self-confident, both in the presence of a scenario that perfectly complemented her talent, and in the absence of Saionji's typical jabs. Togami elected to leave his confession until after the situation was dealt with, demanding that everyone follow Tsumiki's orders. Nanami checked everyone for fevers, pointing out that Tsumiki, as the currently most important person on the island, should avoid contracting whatever disease had struck at all costs. Their chances were best provided their Ultimate Nurse remained healthy, after all.

The sick were to be quarantined in the hospital, with Tsumiki and four others caring for them, so that each of the five patients could have at least one supervisor. Those diligent students proved to be Togami, naturally; Pekoyama, who insisted that she was recovered and accustomed enough to her implants to be useful again; Owari, who refused to let the borderline comatose Nidai out of her sight; and Hinata, ever the selfless person.

The other six students confined themselves to the hopefully sterile motel.

Komaeda, as much of a useless piece of trash he was, wasn't an idiot. Even if he was free to roam the islands, he wasn't deluded enough to think the others actually trusted him in any way. He noticed the way people stiffened when he entered a room, or looked away from him in an attempt to shield their eyes from the disgusting sight and hide their rightfully disgusted expressions. Keeping a distance when they were all confined to the same motel was no small task, but Tanaka, Souda and Kuzuryuu seemed to manage just fine, hanging out with each other nearly all hours of the day and sleeping in three adjacent rooms at night. Mioda spent most of her time belting metal and rock songs in her room, and Nanami...

"Souda made a makeshift GameGirl for me. Do you want to play together?"

Nanami never seemed to follow the grain, for all her air of passivity. When she came across Komaeda, all she did was rub her eyes like she would to any Ultimate. She didn't make up an excuse to leave, she didn't avert her eyes any more than normal and she most certainly didn't seem any more bothered by Komaeda's presence than she did anyone else's.

She and Hinata were similar in that way, though for entirely opposite reasons. While Nanami was unique and consistent in her gentle apathy, Hinata seemed at once to care too much and worry too little. He was stubborn and unwilling to compromise on the subjects of Hope and the Killing Game, yet he'd let Komaeda get close enough to almost...

And when he was truly upset, rather than giving an outburst like his demeanour suggested, Hinata would shut down, lower his eyes and allow the world to happen around him. He became like Nanami was by default.

Nanami, meanwhile, spoke vaguely and always tacked an, _I t_ _hink_ , onto the end of her statements so as not to seem to forceful. Nanami's head tilted downwards, and while everything moved around her, she clearly wasn't shut down herself. When something ticked one of her nerves, she could object in a more indirect way - make suggestions and observations rather than contradictions.

So, when Nanami approached the otherwise-avoided Komaeda out of the blue, inviting him to spend time with her, what she was really saying was, _It's not a good idea to let yourself be excluded right now_.

And she had a point.

The greater the divide grew between Komaeda and the others, the less they would trust him, they weaker their bonds would be, the greater despair would grow.

He smiled, head tilted. "You don't have to waste your time with a piece of talentless garbage like me, Nanami-san!"

And Nanami - clever, sweet, empathetic Nanami - simply shrugged. "Okay."

She curled up on the couch beside Komaeda and played her game in relative silence, hoodie zipped up over her knees. She didn't leave his side, neither did she force him to interact with her.

She was more tactful than she appeared.

So, Komaeda didn't leave. He watched her play through every stage of Space Invaders without dying once, and when she offered up the GameGirl, meeting Komaeda's eyes for a bare moment, he accepted it and began to play.

It was fun.

Every morning and evening, Souda returned from his video meeting at the music venue to inform everyone on the state of the hospital. Things were generally uneventful, with few signs of improvement or deterioration on the patients' parts. Saionji had somehow cultivated and befriended a colony of ants in her hospital room; Koizumi continued to totally ignore the presence of men; Nidai remained nearly comatose. Hanamura hadn't made even one innuendo; and Sonia's face remained buried in her pillow any time someone entered her room, with an uncomfortable groan and muttering about the burdens of human interaction.

Komaeda got into the habit of carrying spare batteries for Nanami's gamegirl. Slowly but surely, the others became less wary of spending time in his proximity whenever Nanami was there as a buffer.

Then, after just four days of their self-induced quarantine, it was uneventfully over. The patients had simply recovered. Just like that.

Komaeda would have been suspicious regardless, but something about Monokuma's demeanour - meek and embarrassed, totally shocked and upset that his motive had failed - when explaining the situation set him fully on edge. The bear had to be up to something.

"I can't believe you guys totally ruined my motive!" the bear pouted. "This has to be Monomi's fault somehow. You're just the worst little sister ever, always undermining her big brother!"

Komaeda was glad to be back in the presence of Hinata. He'd felt starved for the attention of someone so full of Hope and Despair at once - even though he knew he had no right or claim to Hinata's time. But he could see it, too. When they crossed paths, Hinata reacted to Komaeda almost in kind. He must have been feeling a similar pull.

Monomi bravely battled another Monobeast, and the island that opened up was certainly an odd one. It was decorated like a psychedellic theme park designed to induce seizures. Well, Komaeda's head was out of sorts for other reasons. It had been days since his last fix of observing Hinata. Perhaps all those nights together had spoiled him.

It happened in Nezumi Castle.

He gazed into Hinata's hazel eyes, enjoying the tension in the Ultimate Hope's wrists under Komaeda's hands. Their bodies aligned to stand flush together. Despite the struggling tension in his arms, Hinata's expression was calm, almost inviting.

"You could at least buy me dinner first," he muttered, feigning annoyance with sultry, half-lidded eyes.

Just seeing how receptive Hinata was gave Komaeda so much excitement he didn't think he'd be able to hold dinner down. All he'd done was pin him against a wall, and Hinata melted entirely into the moment. It was if he was made to be dominated.

"What can I say? I missed you."

"I'd say four days is too soon to get lovelorn, but Mioda-san hasn't let go of th- Togami-kun and Tsumiki-san's arms since it ended either. And Sonia-san hasn't been alone since she decided to enjoy human interaction again."

Komaeda almost choked on nothing. Had Hinata really just said _love_ so easily? Sure, as part of a larger word, but still. _Love_.

"And what about you?" Komaeda asked. "I know you and Nanami-san are close."

"Are you looking for an excuse to get jealous?" Hinata replied, confirming or denying nothing. "We're not attached at the hip, if that's what you're asking."

No, they certainly weren't. As deep as whatever connection between the two ran, Hinata and Nanami had the maturity to spend some time apart from each other without complaint. Komaeda hadn't even noticed their hands in preventing his initial scheme at Togami's party, because he simply hadn't realised there was a relationship between the two. 

And here Komaeda was, starving for a taste of something Hopeful even with Nanami by his side for the past four days. He really was a degenerate.

"I suppose I'm a bit immature. What can I say? You're delightful to be around."

Hinata - confident, alluring Hinata - reddened like a raspberry. "F-flattery will get you nowhere."

"You look flustered," Komaeda commented like he was talking about the weather. "Did you happen to injest something of Hanamura-kun's again?"

Hinata's eyes widened, then fell. Komaeda knew this shift well. He was shutting down. Komaeda had pressed the wrong button.

"Hanamura-kun... Can I ask you something, Komaeda-kun?"

Hinata didn't wait for a response, raising his gaze to meet Komaeda head on as he pushed himself as far forward as Komaeda's hands would allow.

"Was there any specific reason you chose him to die, or was it just convenience? I mean, you had every opportunity to kill me, after all. And knowing how much Hanamura set up in his attempt to stop _you_ , there would have been ample evidence to frame him and make the whole trial more interesting... But you didn't do that. Were you dead set on killing or being killed by Hanamura, so much that you didn't even think about killing me instead?"

Now that was a hard-hitting question, if ever there was one. "I wonder...which answer would make you wish to kill me more, Hinata-kun?" Komaeda asked, not backing down. "Perhaps if I targeted Hanamura personally, that would be evil and manipulative...though if I just chose what was convenient, then my objectivism would be dehumanising in its own way. Which is more awful, do you think?"

An disgruntled look crossed the Ultimate's face. "So you're not giving up on that? You really think I'd kill you just from some verbal provocation? I'm not going to try anything no matter what you say..."

Hinata was far too easy to sidetrack. It was like dangling a treat in front of a puppy, Komaeda figured with amusement. "Oh, but surely you want to try _something_ , Hinata-kun. Or, are you more the kind of person who expects someone else to make the first move?"

"What are you on about? There's no way I'd want you to-"

Komaeda gently held Hinata's chin, letting one wrist free as his hand came down to cup the Ultimate Hope's face. Hinata's arm didn't move from where Komaeda had left it, even after it was released. Their eyes met directly: sickly, pale grey and warm, inviting hazel.

"Y-you weren't talking about killing..." Hinata realised aloud.

Komaeda hummed thoughtfully. "For someone so provocative, you tend to have blind spots when the attention is directed your way, Hinata-kun. Could it be you've never been flirted with before? Have you never dated someone?" he pressed, enjoying the way Hinata squirmed.

"S-so I've never been that popular..." Hinata responded. "I mean, I guess I've been kissed once, but I don't know if it really counts... Why, have you been with someone before?"

Komaeda elected to file away that tidbit for another day, more interested as to why Hinata was curious about his love life. "Me? Of course not. Who would want to date degenerate trash like me? But you, such a beautiful and talented Ultimate Student, I find it hard to believe no one's tried to claim you for themself."

" _Claim_ me? Am I supposed to be a dog?" Hinata asked with incredulity. "And stop calling yourself trash already. You're way more than that." He mumbled the second part, as though hesitant to let Komaeda hear it.

"Ah! Truly, you're too kind. But the truth is, I'm such an ugly, disgusting piece of trash that I doubt even you, the Ultimate Hope could find joy in my presence. I'm only good for being used and discarded!" Komaeda said cheerily. "So tell me, what would you use me for, Hinata? I won't put up a fight unless you want me to..."

Hinata reddened, before he huffed and slowly deflated. His eyes broke away defiantly. "I know you're just trying to provoke me again... Quit it, or I'll just stop listening to anything you say."

Komaeda whined like the attention-seeking child he was. "Ah, would you really ignore me completely? What kind of things would I have to do to get your attention back, Hinata-kun? How can I selfishly keep your eyes on me, and me alone?"

"Probably not the kinds of things you'd be willing to do," Hinata replied mutely, "which are almost definitely not the kinds of things I'd actually _want_ you to do..."

"And what kinds of things would those be?" Komaeda asked, leaning in as he let his thumb glide over Hinata's lower lip. It dipped like velvety fabric under his touch. Hinata's eyes flicked back up to meet his again. "You'd be surprised what I'm willing to do for you, Hinata-kun..."

Hinata didn't back down, the muscles of his face tensing and flexing under Komaeda's hand as he talked. "If you haven't considered them already, then I'm definitely _not_ going to be stupid enough to give you the ideas, _Komaeda-kun_." He stressed the syllables of Komaeda's name is if in mimicry of the way he said, _Hinata-kun_.

"Perhaps I should keep provoking you, and then I'll get to find out...!"

"You shouldn't," Hinata said flatly. There it was again. The closing off. It seemed the more Komaeda pushed Hinata into walling himself up, the weaker those walls got - because even though the direction of this conversation was putting Hinata down, his demeanour had grown to be more challenging than submissive.

If Komaeda could keep pushing the Ultimate Hope barely over that threshold of despair, again and again, just how much stronger would his resilience grow?

(And what kind of beautiful despair would Komaeda get to see from him?)

He left the conversation at that for now. No need to push Hinata too far, too fast. If Komaeda was sloppy with it, he really would get himself ignored, and then he wouldn't be able to poke and prod at the magnificent mystery that was Hinata Hajime.

And wouldn't that be the greatest tragedy of all?

* * *

Whatever Monokuma was plotting, they weren't having it. That train ride could only end in despair, so the class collectively decided not to fall for it. They could do without the secrets and boat components he was promising.

So imagine Nanami's surprise when she found Hinata hanging in Grape Tower of the Funhouse.

Komaeda was the one to notice his disappearance at first, of course. He had woken up in an otherwise empty room, with a note that read, _Hinata, m_ _eet me in the Funhouse. We need to talk_.

Of course, everyone was immediately suspicious of Komaeda. No matter how well she and Hinata had taken to him, Nanami couldn't deny everyone's wariness after what had transpired with Hanamura at the party.

But still, Hinata was missing, and thus far, the note was the only clue they all had to his whereabouts - and despite how they all felt about Komaeda, there wasn't a person on this island who could honestly say they disliked Hinata.

_**Truth Bullet added: Suspicious note.** _

Monokuma informed them all with unsettling glee that the Funhouse was indeed referring to the place they would find themselves at the end of his mysterious ride - for all the effort she and Hinata had put in to not playing his game, Monokuma still managed to win in that regard.

Just to be certain, they scoured the other islands first. Togami's group took the first island, Sonia's the second, Koizumi's the third and Kuzuryuu's the fourth, while Nanami and Komaeda investigated the central island. Of course, they found nothing. Once all the other groups reconvened, with similar news, they were forced to conclude that Hinata was, indeed, inside Monokuma's Funhouse.

They were knocked out and collectively regained consciousness inside a wide, rectangular room whose walls were pinker than candyfloss and plastered across every inch with images of strawberries. Nanami's stomach growled and her eyes burned. One half of the room was taken up by a strange playground-like area, sectioned off by a row of planters. There were swings, a slide and a line of tires embedded in the ground with only their top halves exposed. Aside from that, the room was fairly empty - save for the splatter of blood on the wall, accompanied by a pair of bullet holes, which led into a strawberry-coloured trail leading down, down, down the stairs.

Nanami remained calm for now.

_Where would a person get a gun?_

_**Truth Bullet added: Two bullet holes.** _

Mioda shrieked. "Whoa! That's a lot of blood!"

"Not particularly," was Pekoyama's calm response. "The pattern on the wall appears to have been caused by a single gunshot, in a low area based on the angle. If Hinata-kun was standing when he was shot, he could only have been hit in the shin or ankle. That's not enough to kill a person."

Tsumiki nodded her head shakily. "I a-agree! This amount of blood l-loss doesn't look fatal to me, b-but it's still a serious injury! Hinata-kun's going to need medical attention."

Kuzuryuu sneered. "That dumb bear was able to keep Pekoy- Peko alive, wasn't he? Hinata's probably fine."

"How can we be sure it's Hinata-kun's blood?" Koizumi asked cautiously. "I mean, I know it seems obvious, but that's still an assumption, right? What if it was someone else's?"

Souda piped up, "But if it's not Hinata-kun, that means someone else totally got shot! And, like, didn't think to say anything before now!"

"Unacceptable!" Nidai bellowed.

Owari backed him up. "Yeah! If one of you guys came in here and got shot, then it's real stupid of you to keep quiet about it for so long!"

Togami gave the group an authoritative look. "If anybody wants to admit to being involved in this, now is the time to do it. Otherwise, we'll have to assume that this is, indeed, Hinata-kun's blood."

**_Truth Bullet added: Bloodstains at the top of the staircase._ **

Owari rushed ahead, using her gymastic elegance to avoid stepping on any bloodstains as she hopped over the railings to get down the staircase faster. She seemed more eager to see what was up ahead than to inspect every detail, which is why Nanami felt more comfortable taking her time.

Nanami followed the trail, taking care not to step on the half-dried, intermittent strokes, down to the far wall of the landing, which had a bloody palmprint dead in its centre.

"That looks freaky!" Saionji whined, tearing up. "It's like something from a horror game! S-stupid Big Bro Hinata, getting himself into a bad situation and making me see something so scary!" She hiccoughed, wiping her eyes.

Koizumi soothed her, looking at the handprint with concern in her eyes.

"Hinata-kun's a...reliable guy," she assured. "I'm sure that, whatever's happened to him, he'll pull through, okay?"

**_Truth Bullet added: Handprint._ **

Beyond that first landing, the trail lightened up and was accompanied by half a set of footprints - the right shoe, precisely - all of which landed towards the middle of each succeeding set of stairs. Nanami retracted her hand from the railing once she saw that it, too, harboured some smudges of blood.

For the sake of thoroughness, Nanami investigated the middle floor in its entirety, and found nothing suspicious about it. There was the first clock she had seen, and five bedrooms of graduating quality, the most luxurious being at the far end. There wasn't a drop of blood on the whole level, so Nanami continued downstairs.

From the base of the staircase, the footprints drew a continuous line towards a rather large elevator, passing in front of the Final Dead Room's door.

"It looks like he was attacked and ran down the stairs," the Ultimate Imposter concluded. They had a serious look about themself. Nanami suspected that whatever had happened to Hinata, they felt personally responsible for it. They had been very adamant about their leadership capabilities, after all. The very fact that they were inside this building looking for Hinata was proof that someone had broken the others' trust and entered this place after everyone had agreed not to.

"And then he probably took that elevator in order to escape a pursuer..." Nanami finished.

The Imposter looked at her solemnly. "...Yes, that seems about right. Which means it's possible he successfully escaped."

She nodded. "Yeah..."

Pessimism would get them nowhere, but neither would ignorant optimism. What they needed right now was the truth.

**_Truth Bullet added: Footprints._ **

The door to Monokuma's so-called 'Final Dead Room' loomed ominously as Nanami investigated the area. Its black, whiate and red harlequin face laughing at their attempts to investigate. Right under its nose lay a bloody knife.

Tsumiki whimpered. "I-if he was s-stabbed after being sh-shot, then he's in worse condition th-than I thought!"

"Nah, I don't think he was stabbed," Souda countered. "I mean, only the handle is covered in blood. Surely if he got stabbed, there'd be blood all over the blade, too! But I'm not an expert or anything..."

"O-oh...! I hadn't even noticed the blade was clean... I'm such a useless nurse! Please f-forgive me for being so idiotic!" Tsumiki cried.

Mioda squeezed her into a suffocating hug. "Oh, shut up with the 'forgive me!' stuff!" she said cheerily. "No one could ever hate an adorable kitten like Mikan-chan, so don't worry about it!"

**_Truth Bullet added: Knife with bloody handle._ **

This knife rested amidst a mess of blood, centered on the trail between the stairs and elevator.

"Based on the pattern of the blood, it looks like there was a struggle here. Blood marks tend to look like this when a person falls over in them. It seems from a distance to be a large amount of blood, but in reality, it has been spread around by a struggle. You can tell based on how thin and uneven it is," Pekoyama said without missing a beat.

"Is that experience talking?" Tanaka asked lowly.

Sonia gasped with wide-eyed awe. "It's so amazing that you were able to conclude so much from such a sparse piece of evidence, Pekoyama-san! I truly admire your intuition."

The Ultimate Swordswoman sighed. "Yes, I'm speaking from my own experience. What I've done is the past is no secret and there'd be no purpose in being ashamed of it. I'm just glad it can be put to use now."

"So, if Hajime-chan ran down the stairs and then had a struggle in this bit of blood, then Culprit-chan must have caught up to him over here! But since the blood continues all the way to the elevator, that means Hajime-chan escaped again, like a slippery slug!" Mioda declared trimphantly.

**_Truth Bullet added: Discordant bloodstain._ **

Near the knife and blood, Nanami's eye also caught sight of something small and white-ish on the ground. She rubbed her eyes just to be sure it wasn't phospenes, before crouching down to look more closely at it.

A splinter.

**_Truth Bullet added: Splinter._ **

The bottom floor of this pink building extended out into a hallway which ended with a door, chained up tightly. Owari and Nidai were in the process of wrestling with the chain.

"It's...all...about...the...mindset...!" Nidai groaned.

Owari cried out, "Yessir!" and strained harder. The chain rattled in place.

"That doesn't look like it's working..." Nanami mumbled. It wasn't that she wanted to discourage them, but a different approach was clearly needed. Trying to remove the chain wih their bare hands was an impossible task.

"Nuh uh! If Coach Nidai says we can do it, then we can!" Owari grunted, shifting closer to Nidai for better leverage on the chain.

"That's right! If we can feel it coming loose in our minds, then we can get it loose in reality!" Nidai yelled heartily. Then, his stance shifted. "Oh...saying that...has made me need to take a shit!"

With that, he dashed inelegantly for the bathroom. Owari sighed, and came to rest with her back to the wall, wiping beads of sweat from her forehead. "I've still got a lot of training to go through if I can't even break that chain off...! Old Man Nidai must be so disappointed in me, dammit!"

_But he couldn't break it, either!_

...was what Hinata would be saying right now.

Nanami smiled. "Don't be so hard on yourself... It means a lot that you gave it your all, I think. Maybe Pekoyama could have a go with her sword, and see if that makes it any easier..."

Owari didn't respond, still panting heavily from the exertion. She pushed away from the wall and cracked her knuckles. "I can totally do it! I'm just...distracted. All these strawberries are making me hungry for red meat!" she cried, gesturing at the psychedellic walls. "Could you imagine getting locked in a place like this with no food?"

**_Truth Bullet added: Chained door._ **

Hanamura was already inspecting the elevator by the time Nanami got there.

"This palmprint..." he muttered, gesturing to the elevator button which was marked with more blood, "Do you think it's Hinata-kun's, too?"

"That sounds plausible... If he got in the elevator in order to escape a pursuer, then he'd have to hit the button with his hand. Then again, maybe the handprint on the staircase belongs to the culprit, and this one could, too. Whoever attacked Hinata-kun might have followed after him, which would mean they also touched this button...I think."

Hanamura was quiet for a moment, as if unsure of how to phrase what he wanted to say. He looked to Nanami, then looked down.

"What is it?" she prompted gently.

Hanamura began to comb his hair, faking an air of nonchalance. "Listen, I... I know I can be a bit _predatory_ when it comes to how I treat other people. I suppose I didn't really notice it until the Despair Disease made me into a more respectful person... Hinata-kun was there, taking care of me, while I was ill, but..."

Hanamura's hands stilled.

"He was there for me before then, as well. I guess both of you were. Hinata-kun took that drug so that I wouldn't kill Komaeda - so that I wouldn't become blackened and be _executed_. But when I thought that Komaeda would murder Hinata-kun, because of my own reckless actions, I was more afraid of that scenario than my own execution. I don't know what it is, but something about Hinata-kun is just so _different_ , in the best way. I didn't really think of what _'Ultimate Hope'_ meant until now, but I think I understand it. Hinata-kun brings hope to everyone.

"You understand what I mean, right, Nanami-san? You and Hinata-kun seem close... So the thought of someone attacking him, chasing him while he bleeds - it makes me feel sicker than raw chicken. Even if they just wanted to escape this island, why would they hurt _Hinata-kun_ , of all people? I mean, why not someone like Komaeda, instead? That would be far more forgiveable..."

Nanami nodded solemly. She tugged at her hood. "It's true that a lot of people care about Hinata-kun. But I don't think it's fair to say that Komaeda-kun's safety is less important. That kind of thinking might seem reasonable, but using it to justify violence doesn't feel right to me."

"I guess...that's true," Hanamura relented. "I only meant that... Well, I can't think of a reason that someone could use to justify attacking Hinata-kun, you know?"

Suddenly, Souda appeared from the staircase, panting slightly. "I went back to measure the handprint on the stairs to compare it to this one! They're definitely from the same hand."

"Wow! Thank you very much, Souda-kun!" Sonia said delightedly, smiling at him.

Souda pinkened and scratched the back of his head. "Oh, it was nothin', really, Miss Sonia! Just thought that would be useful to know..."

Two of the Dark Devas hopped from Tanaka's scarf onto Souda's shoulders and nuzzled him affectionately. "Your hard work has earned you favour amongst these powerful enitities. Consider me impressed, Souda-kun."

**_Truth Bullet updated: Handprint._ **

With everything in this area investigated, there was only one thing left to do. Everybody filed into the elevator. The blood on the button was already dry, so there was no need to worry about smudging it. As the door slid shut behind them, what was painted on the inside could not escape notice.

More blood.

A message.

It had been deliberately, but hastily scrubbed out, so that most of the letters were indecipherable.

_Grxxe 3 cxxlxxg_

_XX0°_

Saionji wailed. "That looks even more like a horror game! Who would write something like that? Is this that fat pig Tsumiki's idea of a dumb prank or something?"

Tsumiki began to cry as well. "There's no way I did this! P-please don't call me a fat pig!"

"Y-yeah! The word is _thick_ ," Mioda said reaching down to squeeze Tsumiki's thigh. She winked at the nurse, deliberately looking away from the bloody message.

"It's got to be from Hinata-kun, right?" Koizumi reasoned. "He's trying to tell us something important."

Kuzuryuu frowned at the message with a serious look on his face. "People don't leave bloody messages unless they're expecting to die before they can say it."

"D-d-die?" Souda sputtered out. "There's no way...!"

"As much as I'm loathe to admit it, we can't deny the situation Monokuma has placed us in..." the Imposter said with severity.

Tanaka crossed his arms. "That's right. This is a _Killing Game_ , is it not?"

"But, I mean... No one would _actually_ go that far, right?" the Mechanic asked nervously. "That's just crazy...!"

"I hate to bring it up, but Kuzuryuu-kun and Pekoyama-san did murder my childhood friend, even if none of us have our memories of it..." Koizumi muttered. "I'm not pointing fingers, but we can't just forget that there are people among us who are completely capable of murder."

"It certainly sounds like you're pointing fingers..." Pekoyama said, glaring at Koizumi with piercing red eyes.

"If anyone's fucked-up enough to do it, it's those two!" Saionji shouted, glaring back at Pekoyama and Kuzuryuu from where she had herself latched on to Koizumi's arm.

Then the elevator doors opened up and the Yakuza and Swordswoman simply stepped out.

**_Truth Bullet added: Bloody messages._ **

This place seemed like an entirely different building. Much like the strawberry-themed walls before, here the walls were covered with images of bright green grapes. Nanami pulled up her hood to shield her eyes.

There were strangely no footprints to follow out of the elevator, and nowhere to go but down a hallway or up a staircase, similar to the layout of the strawberry-themed area. The exceptions were that this place had no Final Dead room door staring at them; the layout was hexagonal rather than rectangular; and the corresponding door was not chained here.

Owari grinned and sped up to the door, kicking it in with triumphant ease.

And there Hinata hung.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWs:  
> -More implied/referenced rape/non-con, still quite brief and not very direct  
> -Character death  
> -Blood  
> -Very brief depiction of hanging (will probably be more detailed in the next chapter)
> 
> Now for end of chapter notes!
> 
> I wanted to give a little more spotlight to the Despair Diseases, but I just couldn't fit it organically into either Komaeda or Nanami POV, unfortunately. I'll summarize them here:  
> -Nidai - Low Energy Disease - essentially a coma  
> -Hanamura - Respectful Disease - still horny as crap, but respectful about it  
> -Saionji - Sweet Disease - increased empathy, particularly towards Tsumiki and the kinds of creatures she would ordinarily like to squish squish  
> -Sonia - Antisocial Disease - scared of social interactions, wants to be alone at all times  
> -Koizumi - Duchess Disease - her perspective on men gets flipped: now men are incapable rather than responsible. She only speaks to women and refuses to accept help from a man
> 
> Nanami POV time! If you were concerned about the lack of Komaeda mentions after the POV switch, don't worry, I'm saving it for next chapter ^-^ You'd better believe it will be intense.
> 
> I wasn't sure how to handle the investigation, since I thought it would be weird to collect Truth Bullets even before there's a confirmed death, which is why I switched to Nanami - she's way too dangan-savvy not to be anticipating the need for her Truth Bullets. I didn't want her to have to return to locations they've already passed through for the investigation, so that's why I added all the Truth Bullets they passed along the way.
> 
> Most Truth Bullets have been collected this chapter, but there's still a few more, including the Monokuma File, of course!


	3. Interpolation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What is the death of hope if not the birth of despair?
> 
> (There is an answer that no one sees until it has long passed by.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Investigation time!
> 
> I had like 70% of this chapter written really quickly and was just puzzling through the last 30% for days. The constant fear while writing a mystery is that the solution is both too obvious and too bizarre! Fingers crossed I hit the balance here.
> 
> Warnings at the end again ^-^
> 
> Me: *posts this chapter and instantly realises i screwed up the formatting* TIME TO EDIT

A dangling, dead, softly swaying, limp, lifeless body filled Nanami's vision.

**_Error: avatar deactivated. There are now four (4) inaccessible users._ **

His head lolled about the pivot point of his neck, almost as though Hinata were simply asleep on his feet, briefly resting his eyes.

**_Despair levels increased amongst subjects. Distinction reduced. Significant number of Hope Fragments (20) no longer obtainable. Reccomended procedure: abort iteration and restart simulation._ **

But the unnatural stillness, stiffness, spoke more clearly than Nanami's hope.

**_Error: you do not have permission for this action. Operation must be undertaken by system admin._ **

There was Hinata, strung up like a spectacle for all to admire. His condition was plainly visible. The warm tone of his skin was replaced by a withered, dull pallor. His white shirt, black trousers and body were soiled by an alarming array of blood, most particularly towards the bottom of his legs, where the blood was so thick that the colour of his trouser leg was impossible to discern. Hinata was nothing more than a hollow idol.

**_Override failed. System message: Upupupu! Did you think you were winning? How naïve... You should have more faith in your big brother, Monomi._ **

Her eyes found Komaeda, as if by instinct.

Who else would she look to?

To Saionji, pale-faced and dry-eyed, as though her childish tears had been shocked into hiding, replaced by complete and utter disbelief. To Koizumi, the comforting arm around the Traditional Dancer's shoulders nothing but a remnant of emotional stability as her eyes remained fixed on the gruesome scene, taking pictures that could never be erased in her mind.

To Tanaka, whose face was painted unmistakably with outrage, both arms trapped in the vice-like grips of others. To Souda, whose immediate scream mixed harmoniously with Sonia's gasp of terror. To Sonia, whose hands tightened as if to comfort Tanaka, while Souda's tightened as if to draw comfort from the Animal Breeder's arms.

To Owari, graduating from dumbfounded shock, to irreparable grief, to determination within the span of a few seconds. To Nidai, doing his best to remain stoic-faced, as tension braided its way through his features, from the tight knit of his eyebrows to the trembling, clenched fists.

To Pekoyama, unnoticeably shaking if not for the barest clatter of her mechanical limbs. To Kuzuryuu, unsurprised at the outcome, accustomed to gruesome scenes, and yet still hurt by the situation.

To Mioda, who immediately trapped Tsumiki in an inescapable hug, at once latching on for comfort and shielding the Nurse from the pain, already weeping waterfalls. To Tsumiki, looking ready to collapse if not for her Ultimate Musician-sized crutch, muttering catatonic apologies for being unable to nurse their dear victim to health. To the Imposter, whose self-imposed sense of responsibility would eat them away from the inside if left unchecked.

To Hanamura, his most immediate fear realised before his eyes, who had committed once to giving up his life in defiance of this disgusting Killing Game only to find it was for nothing, nothing at all.

To Komaeda.

To Komaeda, arms wrapped tightly around his own torso, because he didn't deem himself worthy clutching someone like Nanami, no matter how openly she offered herself. Komaeda, letting out a howl that was closer to pure agony than the psychotic laughter it was trying to be. Komaeda, whose devotion to hope was believed to be his true nature, when there were undoubtedly deeper layers that knew this kind of despair was unjustifiable; who might have been fully prepared to let any other student die in pursuit of a stronger hope, any student other than this one.

Komaeda, dropping to his knees.

Komaeda, shaking so hard he looked ready to shatter.

**_Ding, dong, dong, ding!_ **

_No...!_

**_"A body has been discovered!"_ **

_You weren't supposed to win, Monokuma._

**_"Now then, after a certain amount of time has passed, the class trial will begin!"_ **

_We had a plan...for a future filled with hope._

"You're _laughing_?" the Imposter asked furiously. With just those two words, everyone's grief-stricken attention was slowly dragged to Komaeda, still doubled over and shaking intensely.

Laughing? No, he was weeping. But only Nanami could see it.

"You're insane...! You're seriously insane!" Koizumi yelled, for once precisely at the Imposter's level, despite their disagreements.

Hanamura's face contorted into anger, burning through the glistening of his eyes. "Is that any surprise? After what he tried before..."

"No, that can't be right... Hinata-kun's just fine... I'll patch him up a bit, and everything will be just fine... I just need some bandages, some painkillers...everything's fine...!"

"Are you a fucking idiot? He's dead! You're a God-damn _nurse_ for fuck's sake!"

"Young Master - "

"Are you gonna continue with some deluded fucking fantasy, or make yourself useful, huh? Monokuma wants us to investigate. If we don't figure out what happened here, everyone dies. So quit freaking out like a damn kid!"

"Leave Mikan-chan alone...!"

Komaeda cackled. His voice was thick with grief. "Ah, they're arguing? That's not very hopeful... I expected better from you Ultimates! You should be working together to combat such a despairful situation, you know? Because..."

His expression fell, into a deep, abysmal darkness.

" _...the Ultimate Hope is dead_."

Komaeda grinned painfully wide.

"What greater despair to fight than the death of hope? So work together, everyone! I know you can solve it..."

Outrage at Komaeda's words was more than enough to unite the arguing Ultimates.

"N-Nagito-chan needs to be quiet, already! He's seriously freaking me out..."

The Imposter's indignation reached new levels. Their expression morphed into one of pure outrage. "Hinata-kun was the only one of us that ever afforded you any trust, _Komaeda-kun_." They said his name with such ferity that Nanami took a cautious step back. "And to act to carefree...even _happy_ about his death..."

Komaeda just continued to smile. "You must be quite furious with me, Togami-kun... May I recommend directing that anger towards the development of a greater hope within yourself?"

"Let's tie him up again!" Owari yelled, already making her way over to manhandle Komaeda, to the assenting nods of a few others.

Then came a polite cough.

"Ahem..."

Nanami looked at Monokuma with unspeakable ferocity. She held her hood up to shield that unproductive expression from the others.

"Wow, I didn't expect you all to break down like this over stupid little Hinata of all people! I mean, it's not like you all liked him very much..."

"Unforgivable..." Nidai commented under his breath.

"Honestly, I'm glad he's gone! That guy was just so annoying! I can still hear his dumb voice grating in my ears... Uh... No, I can't! I don't remember a single thing Hinata-kun ever said to me. What a relief! And it was about damn time you kids got murdering! I was worried you'd all just stay here for the rest of your lives, like absolute weenies!"

_Gloating..._

"Well, I'm just here to tell you about my patented...Monokuma File!" the bear declared triumphantly, as their E-Handbooks let out a series of beeps. "Maybe you'll find it useful, maybe not! Now, you'd all better get investigating!"

With that, the bear was gone. No more guidance. No more mockery. This cruel joke spoke for itself.

"Do we even need to investigate?" Souda asked. "I mean, it's obvious the only one psychotic enough to do something like this is Komaeda!"

"I think...we should use this time investigating, before we try and make accusations...since choosing the wrong person would probably be a big mistake," Nanami offered.

Komaeda hummed delightedly. "I knew you'd have the right idea, Nanami-san! That's why I admire you so greatly."

"Hey, Komaeda-kun? I think...I'll find it easier to focus...if you stop talking right now."

_Whatever end you're trying to achieve with this psychotic act...I know it's hurting you inside, Komaeda-kun._

_Hinata's death has shifted something in you._

_You're tearing apart at the seams._

_Of all people, it was Hinata to become a victim._

_I know you're blaming your own luck right now._

_A one in sixteen chance._

_Dreadful luck._

_Great despair._

_But you're so focused on moving the investigation forward, you're not giving yourself time to mourn._

_It's unhealthy._

Komaeda obediently shut his mouth and smiled at Nanami. She let out a sigh.

Sonia's softspoken voice filled the emptiness, as she began to read the Monokuma File aloud.

" _The victim is Hinata Hajime. He was discovered hanging in Grape Tower. There is a bullet embedded in Hinata's right ankle. Hinata's left leg has been forcibly bent in the wrong direction and the knee is shattered. Hinata's neck is covered with bruises, most prominently over his windpipe. His wrist is heavily bruised and swollen. Time of death: unknown. Cause of death: unknown..._ "

_**Truth Bullet added: Monokuma File.** _

"Hajime-chan's shoes are off..." Mioda pointed out solemnly, coming to kneel down on the ground to look at them. Sure enough, Hinata's shoes were on the floor rather than his feet. One shoe - the right shoe - was spotlessly clean, while the other had a natural amount of dirt on it, as well as a few specks of blood. "Do you think...Hajime-chan hung himself?"

"Hanged," the Ultimate Imposter quietly corrected. "It's unlikely. With all the signs of struggle we've seen so far, it's impossible to imagine that Hinata-kun could have done this to himself."

Nanami nodded. "I think...he would have fought really hard to stay alive. He didn't want to participate in this Killing Game, and he did everything he could to prevent it from beginning."

The Imposter nodded, angry look returning. "Whoever placed his shoes like this is playing some kind of sick joke..."

"Hinata-kun couldn't have killed himself, but it's like the killer's saying it was his fault, somehow..." Hanamura added, glaring at the shoes as though they were personally responsible for Hinata's death.

**_Truth Bullet added: Hinata's shoes._ **

Nanami moved closer to examine Hinata's clothing. Up and down the fabric of his shirt and trousers was crumpled, stained in its crevices with blood, like some abstract, monochrome painting that had been long discarded. The monotony broke, down Hinata's right trouser leg, where the blood grew to be so thick it became more of a block colour. Through the trouser's ankle, a hole tore the fabric, creating a perfectly-sized window towards the gunshot wound Hinata bore.

_**Truth Bullet added: Blood on Hinata's clothes.** _

His arms, too, were dirty with dried patches of blood, as well as what was matted into the back of his hair. Just looking at the thinly caked-on layers made Nanami itch uncontrollably. She was uncomfortably aware of the texture of her clothing on her own skin, feeling as though it were scraping her down to the bone with its sandpaper lining. No matter how high the simulation fidelity ran, the pixels poked and prodded, a constant reminder that Nanami would never feel anything analogue.

She sighed and pulled up her hood.

Hinata's hands were completely clean. Comparatively pale. Artificially wiped of whatever evidence they may have held.

**_Truth Bullet added: Spotless hands._ **

It took an embarrassingly long time to realise what was wrong with the picture - aside from the obvious, grim truth of it. There were the injuries, of course. No human body, living or dead, looked _correct_ with one knee so loosened that the lower leg could be overextended without resistance; nor with the other leg so fully drenched in blood that it couldn't be seen; nor with one wrist so bruised and swollen that it made Nanami's own arm ache.

With those grotesque details masking Hinata's appearance, it would have been all too easy to miss the fact that his tie was missing.

It felt like a ridiculously petty detail, but Nanami had never seen him without it. If it wasn't on his body, it had to be _somewhere_.

**_Truth Bullet added: Missing tie._ **

What occupied Hinata's neck in the place of that tie was a thick rope, strung taut under the weight of Hinata's body. Craning her neck upwards only server to further strain Nanami's eyes. Whatever the rope hung _from_ was obscured by the harsh lighting above them all, impossible to make out.

Hinata's body hung centrally within the tower, directly over the top of Usami's picture on the floor.

**_Truth Bullet added: Hanging._ **

The tower itself was quite simplistic in design. The floor was perfectly circular, and rotationally symmetrical save for the discordant image on the door opposite to the one they had entered from. It bore a cartoon strawberry, its red colour conflicting with the green, grape-coloured lighting that painted the walls and offset the hue of everyone's skin.

Nanami tried the strawberry door.

_Click, click._

"It's not opening?" the Imposter observed, arms folded crossly. While their demeanour had eased up since Komaeda decided to close his mouth, they were a long way from calm.

"Where do you think it leads to?"

Without warning, the hideous bear showed his face. "Upupupu! You know, if you all had actually listened to me in the first place, you could have learned all of this ages ago! The Funhouse consists of Grape House and Strawberry House. I've added some handy maps to the Monokuma File!"

Nanami and the Imposter exchanged glances.

" _Ahem!_ You're welcome," Monokuma added testily.

The Imposter answered with, "And you're bothersome," before turning away from Monokuma and looking down at their E-Handbook. "So this 'Funhouse' seems to consist of two buildings, Strawberry House and Grape House, connected by a contact elevator..."

Nanami pointed to the bottom floor hallway in Strawberry House. "That chained door...it looks like it leads to a nearly identical tower to this one...I think."

The Imposter nodded slowly. "They definitely look similar. Same size and colour. If you just overlap both bottom floor images, that could explain where Strawberry House and Grape House are in relation to each other."

"I'm more concerned about the fact that there's no visible exit. Since we all woke up in here, we don't know where the entrance is..."

_**Truth Bullet updated: Chained Door.** _

Nanami took a breath and asked, "Hey...Togami-kun? I might be imagining it, but...you seem pretty angry."

The Imposter fixed her with a stern look. "If you see anger, it's because this situation is infuriating. There's no point pretending it's not."

"Yeah, I understand... It's just that you're usually so calm and collected. Hinata's death must be hitting you pretty hard," she tried.

"It's not - " they started to say, before cutting themself off. "It's not _just_ that. Hinata was a very admirable person. To think that one of the students in this very building would betray the others and kill him is disguting in principle alone. And the fact that it happened under...under this leader - this _prideful_ leader, who swore nobody would die under their guidance..." They trailed off.

"You see this as your responsibility..." Nanami realised.

The Imposter placed a hand on their forehead with a relenting huff. "Yes."

Succinctly put. Nanami tilted her head. "I guess I feel the same way, too," she said with a shrug. "I mean, I'm not the leader of everybody on this island, but Hinata was a good friend of mine, as well as a member of my group. That makes his safety my responsibility, too, you know? It's not the same thing, but I can see where you're coming from..."

_More than you realise, Imposter-san. You chose to protect these people under your wing, but I was designed for it._

_I wish I could reload a save and undo it._

The Imposter turned their head to one side to conceal a soft smirk. "If you'll forgive the bluntness, you and Hinata seemed to be a little closer than just friends. Conspiring together to prevent any killings at the party; playing Twilight Syndrome and revealing the story it told, against everybody's agreement to avoid Monokuma's motive; and it's not a stretch to imagine that you deliberately split up during the Despair Disease fiasco so that you'd have eyes on both the sick and healthy. If not for the fact that your collective actions have always turned out positive results, one might call it suspicious."

_A very forward thing to say, for an Imposter._

_One that's all too close to the truth, when speaking to a Traitor._

"Are you...trying to imply something?" Nanami asked innocently.

"If that were the case, you'd hear it much more directly. Merely stating facts." The Imposter looked her in the eye. "The truth is, no one is ever as trustworthy as they appear. Imposters can hide in their own truth, and good men can use duplicity to their advantage. But that duplicity is something Monokuma would use to turn us against each other."

The Imposter looked away, running a hand through their hair.

"Has anyone ever told you that you have a calming presence? It seems you've made the anger dissipate."

Nanami nodded. "I'm glad to hear it. Even if...your feelings are justified, Togami-kun, what's important right now is the investigation."

"Speaking of which..." the Imposter said, tilting their head towards Tsumiki, who stood with her hands cupped over her mouth, quivering as she just stared at Hinata's body, "she's going to need some reassurance before she's ready to investigate. An autopsy would be useful right now, given that the cause of death is unknown."

"I think...you should talk to her, Togami-kun. Tsumiki-san really likes your presence. As well as..." Nanami glanced around. The person she was looking for was nowhere to be seen. "Do you know where Mioda-san is? She might be helpful, too..."

"She said she was investigating something important. Are you sure you wouldn't be better suited to this?"

_You might feel as though you've failed as a leader, Imposter-san._

_If you talk to Tsumiki-san, you'll see the truth._

_Nobody thinks any less of you._

_Hope will prevail..._

"Yeah, I think so. Besides, there are still some things I need to go investigate..."

By this point, many of the students had dispersed. Only Nanami, Tsumiki, Hanamura, Komaeda and the Imposter remained in Grape Tower.

"Hey, Hanamura-kun... Mind if I ask how you're feeling?"

The Ultimate Cook was quivering where he stood, hands running up and down his own arms. "He's dead...he's actually dead..."

Hanamura's eyes flicked up to meet Nanami's.

"It feels like burning...like my skin is on fire. But it's not like arousal... It's _painful_..."

Nanami put a hand on his forehead. He wasn't feverish, but definitely warmer than he should have been. "Could it be you're still sick with the Despair Disease?"

"N-no..." Hanamura winced and put a hand on his forehead. "It's not the same feeling. That was like a fever eating me up from the inside, but now it feels like it's all around me..."

_Like you're being cooked..._

She smiled softly at him, retracting her hand. "There's probably a sink in the bathroom, if you need some water. Tsumiki's busy with the...autopsy...but it's probably a good idea to stay near her if you start to feel worse."

He nodded. "Thanks for listening, Nanami-san... You and Hi-" He cut himself off, turning to face Hinata's body. " _Shit_... He's...he's actually dead... I just... _This wasn't supposed to happen_."

The Imposter was helping Tsumiki loosen the noose to pull his body down from where it hung. She was working through tears.

"I just can't believe that he's dead... After everything you and Hinata-kun did to prevent something like this from happening... I'm sorry, but I don't think I'll be very useful investigating here. I'm so lost..." He shot Komaeda with a glare. "And I'd rather not see _you_ right about now."

Komaeda just continued to smile.

Stepping outside with Komaeda close behind, Nanami quickly scanned the rest of Grape House's first floor and found Sonia and Tanaka comforting Souda, who was crouched on the ground, head in his hands.

"Souda-kun! Please look at me! I promise that you are perfectly safe..."

"I have cast a warding circle around us... No malicious entities will be able to harm you in here," Tanaka informed him in what was probably supposed to be a soothing tone.

Souda just shook his head and rocked himself back and forth. Sonia's comforting hand on his back moved up and down.

"S-someone here is a k-killer! It c-could be any one of them!"

Sonia tilted her head. "I thought the expression was, 'It could be any one of _us_ ,' no?"

"W-well obviously it's not _m-me_..." Souda sniffled. "And th-there's no way Miss Sonia c-could be so horrible, a-and I would definitely have noticed i-if Tanaka went out to murder someone last night!"

Nanami sighed to herself. "At least he's doing better than Hanamura-kun..."

Souda's head snapped up at the sound of her voice, and immediately paled, pointing a shaky finger over her shoulder. She turned to see Komaeda politely waving back.

Souda shrieked. Tanaka took over physical comfort duties while Sonia fixed Komaeda with a glare. "You are not welcome near us, Komaeda-kun. Please leave immediately!"

Souda was a sensitive person, and these circumstances did nothing to alleviate that tension. While he was close now with Sonia and Tanaka, it had been Hinata who had first reached out to him - back when Souda isolated himself out of fear, the first morning after Monokuma's arrival - and promised that nobody would die.

The absolute devestation in Souda's voice when he saw Hinata's body was heartwrenching.

He wasn't the only one affected. Sonia and Tanaka were being strong for Souda's sake, but they cared about Hinata, too. Even the Devas seemed to have a vague understanding of what was going on. 

Perhaps it was that unanimous admiration that had made him a target. Perhaps he could have lived if he were anything but the Ultimate Hope.

(But it had been Nanami's fault, too. She could have figured out a way to prevent the killings on her own, without Hinata's involvement. She could have worn that target on her own back, rather than painting Hinata's. What did the hope borne of protecting the others matter if he was _dead_?)

There was nothing to investigate on this floor. Nanami ushered Komaeda up the stairs, with a sympathetic look to the trio. The worst part was that Sonia's expression totally lacked judgement for Nanami. She only cared to send Komaeda away, when Nanami was the one who was truly responsible.

She ignored a wave of dizziness, emerging from the stairs to face Grape House's second floor.

"What the _fuck_ are you grinning about, you absolute psycho?" came Saionji's voice, before devolving into a sudden coughing fit.

Koizumi soothed the girl, stroking her hair. "Don't force yourself to talk, okay?" She looked up at Nanami and Komaeda. "You're investigating, right? There's, uh..." she looked down at Saionji as if rephrasing herself for the girl's ears, "... _something_ you'll want to look at, on one of these doors. There might be more inside the room, but... Well, I've got this terrible headache and Yoko-chan's throat is killing her. If you're investigating around here, please, just keep it down, yeah?"

Nanami nodded. "Yeah... I've already asked Komaeda-kun not to talk, and it seems like he's sticking to it. Do you think you're both getting some residual sickness from the Despair Disease? Hanamura-kun also feels a bit ill..."

"I don't care how that disgusting pervert feels right now!" Saionji huffed, rubbing her eyes. "My throat's all scratchy and Big Bro Hinata kicked it! And no one has any gummies for me to eat..." She coughed wetly into her sleeve and then buried her head in Koizumi's abdomen.

The Photographer looked down at her friend, brows knitted with worry. "Maybe we should get you some water... I'm sorry to say it, but the coughing's just making my headache worse."

"I'm sorry, Mahiru-chan..." Saionji croaked.

"It's not your fault, Yoko-chan..." Koizumi looked back up at Nanami. "I don't want to derail your investigation with all this. Sonia-san's just downstairs, so I can ask her if she's also feeling ill. I don't know where Nidai-kun might be though..."

"That'd be really helpful, Koizumi-san. Thank you."

Giving Nanami one last smile that didn't reach her eyes, Koizumi awkwardly made her way downstairs with the sixty-eight pound weight that was Saionji Hiyoko clinging to her waist the whole time. The continued coughing fit echoed up to them, gradually diminishing until it couldn't be heard anymore.

Much like Strawberry House, the second floor of Grape House was home to five bedrooms of differing quality. Two so-called 'Crummy' Rooms stood by the entrance, opposite to each other. After, there was a Standard Room across from an open Lounge. At the far end were two Deluxe Rooms.

A smear of blood stained the handle of one of the Crummy Rooms' doors. Due to the shape of the door's handle, it wasn't defined enough to identify as a handprint, let alone to compare it to the prints on the elevator and staircase. Ensuring the bloodstain was dry beforehand, Nanami carefully turned the handle and entered the room.

There it was, crumpled and soaked in blood, laying innocently on the ground. Even with its shape and colours distorted by the drying blood, Nanami would recognise that small piece of fabric anywhere.

She picked it up and inspected it closely. The fabric was creased into blood-soaked ridges, indicating that it had been tied tightly around something.

**_Truth Bullet updated: Missing tie._ **

"You can talk now, if you want to, Komaeda-kun... I'm concentrating just fine, but I thought it would be better if you didn't keep talking when everyone's angry with you," Nanami murmured, still looking at the tie.

"Ah, what a cunning lie you told!" Komaeda praised. It was always difficult to parse whether he was being insincere or simply strange. Nanami sometimes wondered if people saw her the same way. "But it's fine if you hate me, too, Nanami-san! After all, I'm just a disgusting, worthless piece of trash who has done nothing but undermine your actions to prevent the Killing Game from starting."

If she weren't specifically designed to remain perfectly calm under any circumstance, Nanami might have flinched at his choice of words. Instead, she just blinked and tilted her head. "But if you see that as justified, why would you want me to be angry about it? Besides..." she yawned, "...getting angry is tiring..."

"Is that really how you feel?" Komaeda asked with a glint in his eye. "You're always so calm and collected, Nanami-san. But as much as I admire that, don't you ever want to express your own emotions?"

Nanami shrugged. "I guess...I'm more receptive to other people's feelings than my own."

Her own feelings... Could they even be called feelings?

"But what about you, Komaeda-kun? You're not...expressing yourself very honestly, right now..."

Because this wasn't a conversation: this was a series of calculations between two people who couldn't bear to be genuine with each other. They both buried their grief under piles of pretense, meaningless axioms of hope and despair. Komaeda could praise Nanami for the façade she wore, and then condemn himself for being disingenuous in the exact same way.

"Maybe you believe that whoever did this to Hinata-kun is incredibly bold, or admirable...or that their hope might be strong enough to contest the Ultimates working together to uncover the truth...but I think...you're not completely happy with this turn of events, are you?" Nanami asked. "You...probably see it as your own selfish emotions...like you don't have a right to grieve or something...but you do. At least, that's what I think."

She tugged the edge of her hood, keeping her eyes down so the could just focus on the words.

Komaeda was quiet for a long moment before responding.

"But, you know...people grieve when they've lost something, Nanami-san. And to say I lost Hinata-kun would be implying that he ever belonged to me. So how could I possibly feel something like that?"

_You're speaking softly..._

_...to mask your own pain again._

"That's not how you really feel, is it? Because..."

Nanami closed her eyes.

"...you loved him...just as much as me."

She hadn't processed the second part until it was already out of her mouth. What did it even mean? As much as Komaeda loved Nanami? Or...as much as she loved Hinata?

Was there a difference?

"Is that what you believe?" Komaeda asked.

And she didn't know if he was being derisive or curious; didn't know whether she believed it or not - because _love_ wasn't something that factored into the equation. She had a role to play. She protected the Remnants and guided them towards a brighter future, full of hope. She cared about them deeply, each and every one of them.

_But Hinata's different._

Komaeda took a step towards Nanami, raising an arm to push the door shut behind her. She stepped back to match. His eyes didn't meet hers. Instead, they flicked up, over her shoulder, widening with surprise and delight.

"Ah, how lucky! I believe I've found something important to Hinata-kun's murder..."

Nanami turned her head to get a look at it. Komaeda's arm fell away as he moved back to give Nanami room to step away from the door.

A hastily-drawn, bloody image of some strange shape - like a hexagon, but with a rectangle cut out of one side.

Above it, were two more handprints, about chest height: the kind of place your hands would land if you hastily slammed the door shut behind yourself. She had a feeling that if Souda came and measured these handprints in comparison to the others, they would also match up.

And underneath it...

"What a strange thing to write! Do you suppose Hinata-kun left us this message, or the culprit?"

...

...

"Hinata-kun definitely wrote this."

"Hm? How can you be so sure?"

...

...

"It's from a game we both play."

"So, Hinata-kun left this message so that we could identify that it was from him! How interesting... Do you think he wrote it with specifically you in mind?"

...

...

"Yes."

"And does it give you any hints about who the killer is?"

...

...

"No."

_**Truth Bullet updated: Bloody messages.** _

With nothing else to find in that room, or on the rest of that floor, Nanami and Komaeda took the staircase upwards, to find Kuzuryuu pacing, rubbing his eye with obvious irritation.

"Hello there, Kuzuryuu-kun! I'm surprised you're not with Pekoyama-san right now. Did you come up here so she wouldn't see you crying?"

_That's right, I should ask him to stop talking again..._

"Hey, Komaeda-kun, could you-?"

"What the _fuck_ are you talking about, you creep? I'm not fuckin' crying!" Kuzuryuu snapped, clenching a fist in Komaeda's direction. The skin around his eye looked red and puffy, undercutting his severe expression.

"Maybe...but you do look pretty irritated," Nanami tried, in a soft tone.

"No shit, I'm irritated," he sneered. "Everyone's acting like there's no way someone would pull this crap, when we've only known each other for a couple days. If you and Hinata hadn't fucking outed me and Peko, we'd still be hiding that shit. So why's nobody even the slightest bit skeptical of anyone around them except for this fucker?" Kuzuryuu asked, jutting his head at Komaeda.

"I guess it's because...everyone would rather believe in each other than doubt one another..." Nanami suggested.

He scoffed. "If you keep thinking like that, you'll get screwed over way too easily... Why the fuck are you even bothering with me? My shitty alibi is, I was in the dumbass Coach's room all night and Peko was in her room with the dumbass Gymnast. That's literally all the info I have, so we're done talking here. You morons can check out this evidence with your own fuckin' eyes."

With that, Kuzuryuu stomped down the staircase, leaving Nanami, Komaeda, and a number of bloodstains.

Aside from the space occupied by the so-called 'Monokuma Archive,' the walls had large monitors that loomed over anyone standing near them. A few of these monitors were stained by blood around the bottom edge and up the screens. Like most of the other bloodstains, it had dried over a period of time.

_All this blood in Grape House..._

_If Hinata was first attacked at the top of Strawberry House, and ended up in Grape Tower, why would there be blood up here and in the bedroom?_

Trying to lay out the path Hinata and his killer must have taken was a puzzle on its own.

_**Truth Bullet updated: Discordant bloodstains.** _

"Well, that seems to be everything in Grape House," Komaeda concluded, as though he hadn't been _this close_ to admitting his own grief just a few minutes ago. "There's only one place left to check!"

"One more place?"

"The Octagon, of course!"

Just as he said that, the Monokuma Archive burst open to reveal a frazzled Monomi. "No, no, no, no, no!" she cried in her gentle, sing-song voice. "That place is dangerous! I couldn't bear it if another one of my precious students got killed, trying to complete the F-F-Final Dead Room!"

But Komaeda was paying her no mind.

(No one _ever_ paid Monomi mind.)

He was already heading down to the elevator, and Nanami could do nothing but follow him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWs:  
> -Description of a hanging  
> -Discussion of suicide and suicide customs  
> -Description of various non-lethal injuries  
> -Outsider POV of a panic attack
> 
> Now for end of chapter notes!
> 
> I underestimated the amount of investigating there would be, kinda expected to be done this chapter and summarize all the Truth Bullets here just to have them all conveniently together for you detectives reading this, but I had to split off the final parts of the investigation, so just keep in mind that we still haven't seen *all* the evidence just yet.
> 
> Here are your truth bullets so far!
> 
> Suspicious note: Komaeda found this when he woke up in Hinata's cottage, the same morning that Hinata was missing. It reads, 'Hinata, meet me in the Funhouse. We need to talk'. No one admits to writing it.
> 
> Two bullet holes: There are two bullet holed in the wall near the staircase on the top floor of Strawberry House.
> 
> Bloodstains at the top of the staircase: There's a blood splatter on the same wall as the bullet holes, leading into a trail down the stairs. According to Pekoyama, the blood pattern would indicate a person being shot in the shin or ankle.
> 
> Handprint: There is a bloody handprint on the wall of the landing between the top two floors of Strawberry House. Update: There is also a handprint on the elevator button in Strawberry House. Thanks to Souda's measurements, it seems likely that it was made by the same hand.
> 
> Footprints: There are right shoeprints on the stairs below the handprint in Strawberry House, around the middle of each set. From the bottom of the staircase, there is a continuous trail of these footprints leading to the Elevator.
> 
> Knife with bloody handle: On the ground of Strawberry House's first floor is a knife with blood on the handle but not the blade.
> 
> Discordant bloodstains: Some of the blood on the bottom floor of Strawberry House indicates that a struggle occured there, according to Pekoyama. Update: There are more inexplicable bloodstains on the higher floors of Grape House. The second floor has a bloody door. The top floor's monitors have blood on their bottom edges and screens.
> 
> Splinter: There's a wooden splinter on the ground on the bottom floor of Strawberry House.
> 
> Chained door: The door to Strawberry Tower is chained. Owari and Nidai are incapable of breaking the chain open with their strength alone. Update: The far door of Grape Tower also refuses to open. Looking at the maps indicates this might be the same door...
> 
> Bloody messages: The inside of the elevator door contains smudged messages. They're not completely decipherable. 'Grxxe 3 cxxlxxg' and 'XX0°' Update: There are also bloody messages on the inside of the door to Grape House's Crummy Room, next to the lounge. They consist of an image of a hexagon with a rectangle cut out of one edge; two bloody handprints above it; and something underneath that proves the message was left by Hinata.
> 
> Monokuma File: 'The victim is Hinata Hajime. He was discovered hanging in Grape Tower. There is a bullet embedded in Hinata's right ankle. Hinata's left leg has been forcibly bent in the wrong direction and the knee is shattered. Hinata's neck is covered with bruises, most prominently over his windpipe. His wrist is heavily bruised and swollen. Time of death: unknown. Cause of death: unknown...'
> 
> Hinata's shoes: They're on the floor near where his body was found. The left shoe looks naturally dirty, but the right shoe is spotless.
> 
> Blood on Hinata's clothes: There's blood all over Hinata's shirt and trousers, front and back. It's especially thick around his right ankle.
> 
> Spotless hands: Hinata has a lot of blood on his skin, but his hands are spotless.
> 
> Missing tie: Hinata's tie wasn't found on his body. It's strange, because he always wears it. Update: the tie was found in the Crummy Room of Grape House, next to the lounge. It's crumpled lengthwise, like it was tied tightly around something. It's also covered in blood.
> 
> Hanging: Hinata's body was found hanging centrally in Grape Tower. Thanks to the lights, it's hard to look up and see what he's hanging from.


	4. Recapitulation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The trial begins. Consolidate the evidence. Deduce the answer.
> 
> (One of us is lying.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I wasn't able to fit all the investigating into the last chapter! I wanted to get all the Truth Bullets together at the end of a chapter and begin the trial the next, but it didn't work out that way T-T  
> That being said, there is still plenty of evidence to explore that Nanami hasn't seen herself, so it's not like having all the Truth Bullets by the end of investigation is necessarily enough to solve the whole thing. More will be revealed during the trial ^-^
> 
> And thank you for being patient! This chapter took me so much longer to write than the others so far, so I really put in the effort to make it worth the wait. I hope y'all like it!

"Alright... I'm totally prepared for this! Strike it as hard as you can! I won't flinch!"

"Give it everything you've got! Don't hold back! And remember to use the strength of your whole body!"

"I will do my best... I cannot promise this will be clean. My balance is still difficult to control with these mismatched limbs, so the blow will not be precise..."

With a piercing metallic ring, Pekoyama brought the sword down through the chain that Owari and Nidai held taut between them. Rather than her blunt bamboo blade, the weapon she used was the same replica sword that Hinata had given her to split coconuts so long ago.

Just as she had predicted, her blows were imprecise. Perhaps with her own arms, she would have been able to cut it in one slice, but with the state she was in, it took three strikes that all came dangerously close to nicking Owari and Nidai's hands.

But in the end, the chain fell to pieces under the determined assault of the Ultimate Swordswoman.

"Hell yeah! We showed that chain who's boss!"

"We blew it away with our immense team spirit!"

"I'm glad that I was able to be of use."

Komaeda cleared his throat, attracting their attention, and quickly souring the mood. Owari, Nidai and Pekoyama all shot him with their distinct flavours of glowering. Owari's the hot and fierce, openly aggressive in her facial expression and body language. Nidai's was well-suppressed, showing less in his face than the tension of his body, stiffening up as soon as Komaeda was in his sight. Pekoyama's was as cold and piercing as ever, speaking with her eyes alone, while the rest of her face was schooled into a perfectly blank mask.

"Hey guys," Nanami called softly, hoping to draw their attention away from Komaeda. "What are you doing?"

Owari was the most easily distracted. She gleamed with pride and punched her fists together. "We destroyed that dumb chain, so now we can check out Strawberry Tower! That's gotta be useful for the case, right?"

Nanami briefly pondered whether the exact state of the chain when they had first discovered it would prove to have been more important than whatever was inside Strawberry Tower. She doubted it. "Yeah... The culprit must have blocked that door for a reason, so there's probably something importang behind it. Plus...Togami-kun and I were discussing the relationship between Strawberry Tower and Grape Tower...so it might be connected to where Hinata-kun was found, as well."

"The relationship between Strawberry Tower and Grape Tower?" Nidai questioned in his bellowing voice.

Pekoyama carefully sheathed her replica sword alongside her bamboo sword. Her sword bag had just enough slack to fit them both, since the replica blade was skinny, though it did leave gold flakes all over the fabric. "You mean, because they appear so similar on the maps Monokuma provided us with, right? And because Grape Tower had a door with a strawberry image across from its entrance..."

"That's right," Nanami affirmed. "It seems likely that the towers are connected somehow."

"Ah, such wonderful deductive reasoning from the Ultimates collaborating with one another!" Komaeda swooned.

" _Oh, you're still here?_ " Pekoyama questioned, raising a minutely shaking hand back up to the handles of her swords. Both blades presented an equally threatening prospect in her hand.

Owari snarled. "Quit acting like you didn't give a shit about Hinata-kun! You were such a fucking creep around him - the least you could do is be sad he's gone!"

He stared at her with wide, unflinching eyes. "But what do the feelings of an insignificant speck such as myself matter?"

As he launched into another rambling spiel about his own worthlessness in comparison to the Ultimates, Nanami breezed past and tried the door to Strawberry Tower. She pressed the button to open the doors, and after a short delay, they slid open.

"Sorry to interrupt, Komaeda-kun..." she said, cutting him off, "but you should come see. He's here."

The four turned to face her, and saw with their own eyes what was waiting for them inside Strawberry Tower.

Hinata's body lay peacefully on the floor, neck now free of the rope that had clutched it.

Strawberry Tower looked nearly identical to Grape Tower, with the grape and strawberry motifs inverted so that the walls were now painted in a pink light and the door opposite to the entrance bore a grape image. Both Towers had pillars arranged in the same manner next to their doors, and an image of Usami eating their respective fruits projected on the floor.

And both had Hinata.

"Whoa!" Owari cried out in shock. "He moved all the way over here? But how did he get out of Grape House?"

"That's unlikely..." Pekoyama informed, looking towards the ground as her metal arm held its flesh counterpart. "Since we discussed the possible connection between Grape Tower and Strawberry Tower, it's much more probable that Hinata-kun's body never left Grape Tower, and that they are, in fact, the same location."

_**Truth Bullet added: Hinata in Strawberry tower.** _

Strung between the handle of one door at the entrance and one on the opposite side, was a catenary of rope. From its midpoint trailed a length of more rope that was messily spilled across the floor, some even splayed over Hinata's body. The very end was tied into a noose.

"What's this rope doing here?" Nidai questioned, comically scratching his head.

"Could it be...the same rope Hinata was hanging from?" Komaeda guessed, gesturing to the noose at the end.

"But how'd it get all the way down here?" Owari cried. "It was hanging so high up I couldn't even climb it! And now it's...on the doors? Did it fall or something?"

"No. The ends are tied deliberately and sturdily to these door handles..." Pekoyama answered. "They couldn't have fallen into this position."

"Then, how...?"

**_Truth bullet added: Rope between door handles._ **

"Hinata-kun's body ended up on the floor somehow... Did Tsumiki take him down from where he was hanging in order to perform her autopsy?" Nanami guessed. "It would have been difficult to perform with him suspended like he was..."

"That makes sense!" Nidai declared. "Since she performed the autopsy in Grape Tower, Hinata-kun would have been lying on the floor of Grape Tower... So if he's on the floor of Strawberry Tower, that means they're definitely the same place!"

"The floor's definitely the same," Komaeda added. "His shoes are here, too." Sure enough, there they were, in the sae exact state that had been in, in Grape Tower. "But it's all a different colour. Can this really be the same place as Grape Tower?"

Nanami said, "The walls are actually white, I think..." She held a hand right up to the wall, and caught some of the pale pink light bouncing off of her skin, making it appear more lively than it was. "They look pink right now because there's light being projected on them. So when it's Grape Tower, there's a green light instead, making the walls appear green. The same is probably true for the picture on the floor."

"What about the door?" Owari asked, pointing to the closer door, that bore a grape icon. "It was a strawberry back in Grape Tower. Actually...isn't that backwards? How come there's a grape in Strawberry Tower and a strawberry in Grape Tower?"

"It makes sense when you look at the maps together like this..." Komaeda replied. He held up his E-Handbook and pointed to both towers. "Imagine overlapping these two towers so that they're the same place, which they probably are. Then, that door with a grape on it would lead straight to Grape House! And if you turn and look at if from the other direction, the door with a strawberry leads to Strawberry House."

Nidai glared at the screen, though his intensity was almost imperceptibly softened by a strange off-ness behind his eyes. "So Grape House and Strawberry House are connected like that...two buildings that share a tower in the middle."

There was a miniscule clank as Pekoyama tried the grape-themed door with her metal hand. She quickly crossed her arms when it wouldn't budge. "...It's not opening."

"Huh? But the door to Grape Tower wasn't all chained up from the other side, so..."

"Upupupupu!" came a horrendous voice, and equally horrendous figure appearing out of nowhere to accompany it. "Well of course it won't open! This room can only be Grape Tower _or_ Strawberry Tower depending on which house you enter from. If both doors opened at once, the whole Tower would just break down!"

"So you're saying it's impossible to open both doors at once? What if someone on Grape's side hit the button to open this Tower right now?" Komaeda asked.

"Surely the door to Strawberry House would be forced shut, and then the lights would change before the door to Grape House opens up," Pekoyama deduced.

"No, no, no!" the bear snarled. "It doesn't work like that! The Tower won't change over with people inside of it. It's got sensors to detect your heartbeat - or even something as miniscule as a ticking pocketwatch - and if it senses people inside, it won't open from the other side no matter how hard you smash the button!"

"I see..." Komaeda hummed to himself. "That's very interesting."

"Why's that interesting?" Nidai's voice was hard with determination that didn't fully mask how it wavered.

Nanami said, "It's probably because...Monokuma didn't initially want us to know how the Towers were connected. If someone could watch it change from the inside, it would be too obvious..."

"That's so fucking inconvenient!" Owari growled. "So, if we wanna move between Grape House and Strawberry House, we gotta use the elevator to go all the way around instead of just walking straight through?"

**_Truth Bullet added: Heartbeat sensor._ **

While the others throroughly investigated the Tower to make sure there was nothing else of interest, Nanami quietly took Nidai aside to question whether he, too, was feeling oddly sick.

"Sick? I wouldn't say I'm feeling sick! In fact, getting all that rest when I was comatose really boosted my energy!" He flexed his entire torso to illustrate the fact that he was in perfectly healthy condition. "But I do feel kinda strange..."

"Strange?" But not sick? "How so?"

"I guess seeing Hinata-kun dead really got to me... My body's perfectly healthy, but I feel sorta...out of it." Nidai frowned, brows furrowed as he picked out the words that could best describe his situation. "It's like I keep expecting myself to fall apart for no reason. And when I close my eyes, I feel kinda like my body isn't really there, you know?"

He shut his eyes for a moment, then quickly shook his head and looked back at Nanami, back with his fiercely determined expression

"But you don't have to worry about that! As the Ultimate Team Manager, I'm more than capable of putting my feelings aside for the sake of others! I'll feel myself again soon enough!"

Nanami sighed. "It's nice of you to be more concerned with everyone else right now, but the situation's a little disconcerting... Hanamura-kun, Koizumi-san and Saionji-san are all feeling strange symptoms. Since you were all victims of the Despair Disease, it might be possible that what you're experiencing right now is more than grief or shock..."

"Strange symptoms?"

Nanami turned around to see that Pekoyama had tuned into their conversation without her realising it.

"What kinds of symptoms?"

"Hanamura-kun feels feverish, Saionji-san has a sore throat and Koizumi-san said she has a headache. I'd guess they were unrelated, but those three people all suffered from the Despair Disease, which also affected them in completely different ways. So, it wouldn't be too strange if they were all experiencing varying after-effects... I didn't notice anything wrong with Sonia-san, however."

"Of course not!" Nidai declared. "As the Ultimate Princess, there's no way she wouldn't hide her own suffering so as not to demoralise her people! Princesses and coaches are one and the same!"

_I don't think they're exactly the same thing...but I guess that's something Sonia-san would do._

With Strawberry Tower fully investigated, all that was left to investigate was...

As Monokuma explained it, the Final Dead Room was used to access something called 'the Octagon,' by playing some kind of deadly game. The Octagon supposedly contained all kinds of weapons and equipment useful for committing murder, as well as something called _the Ultimate Weapon_. With that ominous knowledge, it wasn't hard to imagine that the gun, knife and rope could have all come from the Octagon. If that was the case, investigating the area would be invaluable in finding the truth of Hinata's murder.

**_Truth Bullet added: The Octagon._ **

But even so...

"This doesn't seem like a good idea... If you have to go through by playing a _deadly_ game..."

"Then who better to try it than the Ultimate Lucky Student?" Komaeda said cheerily. "If my luck carries me through, then I can finally contribute to the investigation, and if my luck fails me and I die, that wouldn't be such a loss, especially compared to the loss of Hinata-kun!"

 _That's ridiculously irrational!_ Nanami wanted to snap, but there was no reason to set aside her calm demeanour just yet.

It was true that looking into the Octagon was important, but that didn't automatically devalue Komaeda's life.

(They were already going to lose someone to the trial. Did she have to risk Komaeda, too?)

If there was just a safer way to get in...

The harlequin face of the Final Dead Room grinned unwaveringly. Of course it didn't waver, it was just an image. It wasn't a real face, it was just...just stark, pale white -

_\- paler than the pallid gleam of Hinata's skin -_

\- with a mismatched pair of black eyes - 

_\- mismatched like the two legs, one warped at the knee joint, the other more blood than flesh around its ankle -_

\- that just didn't stop staring, _staring_ , straight through the soul that Nanami would have had if she were a real person. If she were capable of fear, which she _wasn't_ , because everything in her program was just a calm and rational response to stimuli with the goal of preserving everybody's lives, hopes and friendships.

Komaeda was already at the door. His hand was raised to push it open, to walk straight into the clown's mouth and be eaten up by death and despair if Nanami didn't _do something._

"Komaeda-kun, I - !"

Then the elevator opened up behind her, emerging from it - 

_"Guysguysguys Ibuki-chan did a scary thing!"_

\- Mioda, who barreled straight into Nanami's arms. By instinct, she caught the girl and checked her up and down for injuries, searching for the cause of her obvious distress - but there was nothing immediately visible.

_"Ibuki-chan went in the scary clown door and fell out somewhere else and then she **ran** all the way here to find Chiaki-chan because Chiaki-chan is super smart, so that's why I'm out of breath like a kid who can't swim in a pool with no floaties!"_

Each word ran into the next, her sentences coming out in continuous strings of noise that were difficult to parse into sensical phrases. Her only breaks were to take frantically heaving breaths as she clung to Nanami for support.

_"Chiaki-chan needs to see it, cuz Ibuki-chan's brain isn't so good at braining and she's also super distracted by this weird crick in her neck, so come **on** -!"_

Mioda grabbed Nanami and tried to drag her in the elevator's direction, which proved to be a mistake, when doing so meant that Mioda was forced to support her own weight and ended up toppling to the ground as her chest shuddered, still gasping for breath. Mioda groaned and reached up to her own neck, wincing in pain.

"Ow, ow, _ow_...!" she whined.

Nanami knelt down and put a reassuring hand on Mioda's shoulder. "Hey," she tried in a calm, gentle tone, "can you take some deep breaths, please?"

Mioda began to nod, but her face screwed up in pain again and she pressed more insistently onto the back of her neck.

"Ibuki-chan was..." she took a deep breath, "...feeling bad because Byakuya-chan...and Mikan-chan are being helpful but...Ibuki-chan can't do autopsies or be a leader, so...I tried to look at the clown door thing...!"

"So you completed the Final Dead Room?" Komaeda asked, finally stepping away from that dreadful door.

Mioda, rather than trying to nod this time, let out a strangled grunt of affirmation. Her breathing was starting to even out, at least. "Ibuki-chan did a bunch of tricky puzzles...and then played some Russian game and then...she got into a big room with guns and knives and stuff...!"

"The Octagon..." Nanami realised. 

"So then Ibuki-chan ran back here find Chiaki-chan...so she can come and investi-!"

**_Ding, dong, bing, bong!_ **

**_"It appears...that it's time for the class trial..._ **

**_"..._ **

**_"To tell you the truth, I don't really feel like seeing this one through._ **

**_"I mean, who really cares who killed Hinata?_ **

**_"Such a plain, boring student._ ** **_You probably won't even remember him once you leave this building._ **

**_"But I guess...the rules say we need a class trial..._ **

**_"What a waste of time! I'd much rather be hibernating..._ **

**_"In any case, you'd better come prepared for this trial!"_ **

While Nanami was in the middle of wondering how they could get out of this building to assemble at the trial grounds, a low rumble shook the ground and through the open door of Strawberry Tower, the head of Monokuma Rock emerged from the floor, completely disrupting the scene and forcing Pekoyama, Nidai and Owari to squeeze up against the walls.

_How obnoxious..._

"I guess we'll be relying on your memory to see us through this trial, Mioda-san," Komaeda chuckled, as if it were just a mild inconvenience.

Mioda shrieked. "Wha-wha-wha-wha-? Ibuki-chan's memory is only good with words and voices!"

Nanami squeezed her shoulder. "I think you can do this, Mioda-san. Because...Hinata-kun's relying on all of us. So I believe that you'll remember what's important."

**_Truth Bullet added: Mioda's appearance._ **

* * *

There was nothing appropriately somber about the trial room. Everything about it was brightly-coloured and harsh to the eye, just like the entire Funhouse, as if in intentional disrespect to the death of Hinata Hajime. Saionji and Koizumi bracketed the podium where he would have stood, a dull and lifeless picture in his place, complete with a pretty blue bow and a crossing-out in the colour of blood.

The wrongness of it hurt. Not just the fact that their classmate was dead, but that it was _Hinata_ , who would have worked so hard and fought so strongly to find justice in a trial like this - Hinata, who was now the only person incapable of speaking, incapable of seeking the truth.

Nanami stood with Nidai to her left and the Imposter to her right, eyes flitting over the room, one last time, absolutely detesting the part of her that was scanning these children for signs that she might have to condemn them to execution.

Her eyes met mirrors, everybody else giving each other the exact same scrutiny, in complete silence.

"Okay, so...how do we do this?" Koizumi asked, cutting through the silence.

"I guess we just...talk about all the evidence..." Souda responded slowly, his eyes flitting back and forth between Sonia and Tanaka for assurance.

Sonia supported him. "Good idea, Souda-kun! Let's discuss the evidence!"

"Yes...but where to begin? So many mysteries lay unsolved..." Tanaka said.

Nanami spoke up first. "I think we should discuss _**where the body was found**_." Digging into the truth of that would recontextualise the possibilities of how he was killed, after all.

"Discuss it? But we all found him in Grape Tower..." Hanamura said shakily. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. "What's there to discuss about it?"

"While it's true that we all saw Hinata-kun hanging in **_Grape Towe_** r, his body was _rediscovered_ somewhere else," Pekoyama explained solidly, objectively, and with a slight tremble in her voice. "His body was _also_ found laying in _**Strawberry Tower**_."

"But I thought Strawberry Tower was inaccessible, thanks to that big chain on the door..." Koizumi pointed out softly, still nursing a painful headache.

"Yeah, you big stupid idiot!" Saionji burst, before hacking up a cough and continuing in a gravelly voice. "If you just make up lies, you're obviously guilty..."

"It ain't a lie!" Owari snarled. "And Pekoyama-san's no more of an idiot than I am!"

Pekoyama slid her a look from the corner of her eye. "Forgive me for being blunt, but that's a low bar."

"It's really not a lie. Owari-san, Pekoyama-san and I all put our strength together to break that chain, and we were able to gain access to Strawberry Tower!" Nidai explained. "Owari-san and I held the chain taut, while Pekoyama-san struck true with her blade, and sliced the chain to pieces. In all my time as the Ultimate Team Manager, I've never seen such incredible teamwork and synergy! It just makes me want to take a good shit!"

"Nanami-san and Komaeda-kun were both there to witness it, by the way," Pekoyama clarified. "After gaining access to Strawberry Tower, we saw that Hinata-kun's body was _also_ located there, though it was _**lying on the floor**_ rather than hanging. Assuming nobody moved the body, it's quite simple to reach the conclusion that Strawberry Tower and Grape Tower are _**actually the same place**_. Monokuma basically confirmed this - "

"But can we really be sure that no one _**moved the body**_?" Komaeda asked, cutting her off unapologetically. The glare Pekoyama shot him could have punctured the hull of a naval vessel.

"Yeah, Peko-dumb-a!" Saionji shouted, before devolving into yet another coughing fit. "Wait...why am I agreeing with stinky Komaeda?"

"Of course no one moved the body!" Souda exclaimed. "That'd be ridiculous..."

Nanami took a lull in the conversation to explain. "To be sure of that, we need to go over _**what happened to Hinata-kun's body**_ between the point that he was first discovered, and the time that he was rediscovered in Strawberry Tower. It's unlikely that he was moved, but we should be certain of that fact before we make any assumptions."

The Imposter cleared their throat with a commanding air, and looked over every single student in the court room, as well as landing their gaze for a moment on Hinata's portrait. "If you'd like an explanation of what happened to Hinata-kun's body after being discovered, that can be provided simply enough. After taking a few minutes to be calmed down from the shock of discovering the body, Tsumiki-san performed an _**autopsy**_ to the best of her ability with the tools she had available. Hanamura-kun was also present throughout, if you need someone else to corroborate."

"Whoa, an _autopsy_! Did you cut him up and spill his guts?" Mioda asked with a mixture of terror and excitement swimming across her features.

Tsumiki shrieked in the face of Mioda's intensity. "N-no, I wasn't able to perform a c-complete dissection with the t-time and equipment I h-had available. Please forgive me! A-all I could do was look at surface-level details..." She went on to explain. "Most of Hinata-kun's injuries were recounted accurately in the _**Monokuma F-File**_. That's - there was the bruising around his neck, the bruising and swelling of his wrist, his sh-shattered left kneecap, and the b-bullet in Hinata-kun's right ankle...

"B-but actually, I was able to discover a _few_ things, so I might not be completely useless after all!"

"Aww, Mikan-chan's not useless! No one else provides such high-quality fanservice!"

The Imposter coughed to draw their focus back to the matter at hand. "Please, tell them what you discovered, Tsumiki-san."

"W-well, this may not be too important, but Hinata-kun had a noticeable sheen of sweat, as well as pupil dilation, which w-wouldn't be too strange to find on a dead body. B-but what I _did_ find interesting was a small, needle-sized **_puncture wound_** on the back left side of his n-neck. O-of course, I had to take Hinata-kun's body out of the noose in order to properly inspect it. Togami-kun helped me with that..."

The Imposter nodded. "Hinata-kun's body was laid facing upwards _**on the floor**_ beside his shoes, so that Tsumiki-san would have easier access to perform her autopsy."

"Taking the body off of the rope explains why we found him lying on the floor instead of hanging," Komaeda hummed, "but is that really the only difference that needs explaining?"

Hanamura reluctantly looked at Komaeda. "W-was there something else about the way Hinata-kun's body was rediscovered that looked strange?"

The Lucky Student paused.

Then smiled.

"Huh? Did I say something? Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your little trial. Please, feel free to just ignore me!"

"Really? But you sounded as though you had something important to say..." Sonia trailed off.

Koizumi seethed. "He's just trying to distract us and waste our time!" She pointed an accusing finger at him, though her glare was undercut by another wince. That headache had to be pretty piercing.

"Sabotaging the trial..." Hanamura grumbled.

"But why would he align against his own interests...?" Tanaka pondered deeply. "Doesn't he realise that aiding the culprit will get himself and everyone else killed?"

Souda shouted, "Yeah, what gives, man?"

"But why would siding with the culprit be against my own interests?" Komaeda asked, a picture of wide-eyed innocence. "After all...

" _ **That person was bold enough to kill the Ultimate Hope.**_

"Knowing that, how could I possibly disregard them?"

"What the fuck kind of backwards logic is that?" Kuzuryuu snapped. "If you've got such a hard-on for the Ultimate Hope, then whoever killed Hinata-kun should be everything you despise! Don't you want that bitch dead?"

"Despise...?" Komaeda's expression flickered briefly, like a television changing channels.

(Like Nanami, loading up a line of dialogue.)

"Whether I despise that person or not isn't really relevant! I'm just curious to see how two immense Hopes compete with one another. There wouldn't be anything to watch if I solved this case for you guys... So, work harder already! I want to see you guys battle it out with everything you've got!

" ** _Because I admire you all so much, whichever of you might be spotless or blackened. The side with the greatest Talent and the strongest Hope will win in the end...!_** "

_Admire...?_

_But you couldn't bring yourself to say that you don't despise the blackened. (You hate them with the core of your being)._

_Komaeda-kun..._

_You've never been so angry._

_You don't want the blackened to win, but you're disrupting the trial anyway... Are you just pushing us to test our hope?_

_Or is there another reason...?_

_..._

_No, it doesn't matter. Whether Komaeda's going to help us or not, I'll get to the truth of this case!_

_I could never hate any of my...my classmates..._

_But for Hinata-kun's sake, for his memory and for his goal, I can't allow the blackened to get away!_

_I'll fight with everything I've got!_

"It's not a complete derailment," Nanami pointed out. "I think Komaeda-kun's just trying to rile everyone up, but...what he said is still actually important to this case. There was something else about the scene of Strawberry Tower that looked odd, wasn't there?"

"That's right! I've got a question for Tsumiki-san..." Nidai piped up. "Why did you move the **_rope_**?"

Tsumiki squeaked in surprise. "Th-the rope? I don't...uhm... I-I don't think I - "

"The rope was left hanging more or less as it was found initially. The noose had to be loosened, but it was otherwise left undisturbed, which Hanamura-kun can also attest to." the Imposter said confidently.

"That's right. Togami-kun and I can both confirm that Tsumiki just performed the autopsy as she said. I don't even think it would have been possible to take down the rope... I mean, it was strung so high up I couldn't even see what it was attached to!"

Owari scratched her head. "Huh? But if you didn't take down the rope, how'd it get on the _**door handles**_?"

"Door handles?" Tanaka questioned with a skeptical look in his eye.

Nidai frowned. "That's right! When we rediscovered Hinata-kun's body in Strawberry Tower, there was a long rope with a noose at the end, but it was suspended down between the doors to Strawberry House and Grape House instead of hanging high up on the ceiling. I thought it had to be the same rope Hinata-kun was hanging from, but if nobody moved it..."

"Wait, just slow down a second... It's so like an unreliable guy to go speeding ahead without explaining himself first," Koizumi grumbled. "What do you mean, _**'the doors to Strawberry House and Grape House'**_? Are you saying they're connected by Strawberry Tower or something?"

No, they didn't have time to be confusing two different discussions. Nanami held in a sigh. "Let's put aside our theories on where those doors lead for the time being... I get the feeling that figuring out what happened to that _**rope** _will help us out right now. Nidai-kun is talking about the two sets of doors that are opposite to each other in Strawberry Tower."

"Just like in Grape Tower, there are **_two sets of doors_** : one as the entrance, and one on the far wall," Pekoyama informed. "Grape Tower's far doors have a Strawberry motif, while Strawberry Tower's far doors have a Grape motif. Both Towers' far doors appear to be unopenable from the inside of the Tower."

"So both Towers are almost exactly the same except for the fruit motif..." Koizumi said in understanding. "Alright, I can visualise that. Now what's this about a **_rope_**?"

"Well, there was a rope tied between the entrance doors and far doors, handle to handle! It was tied on pretty sturdy-like," Owari appraised. "And in the middle, it was like a saggy T or a Y shape, where the rest of the rope was all over the ground with a noose at the end. But like, if Tsumiki-san, Togami-kun and Hanamura-kun didn't move it, I can't figure out what it was doing there... Was it, like, a different rope? Or did it fall down?"

"A saggy T?" Mioda grinned cheekily. "Better a pair of flat Ts than a pair of saggy ones, right ladies?"

"Well, let's all ask Tsumiki-san, then!" Komaeda suggested in a playfully condescending tone, that earned more than a few brief glares. "Hey, _Tsumiki-san_ ," he called in a singsong voice, "did anyone _else_ enter Grape Tower while you performed your autopsy or afterwards, who could have tampered with the ropes while you, Hanamura-kun and Togami-kun weren't looking?"

"Uh, well...I-I really don't know... I'm s-so sorry! I w-wasn't paying that much a-attention! I w-was so focused on the b-body itself..."

Poor girl. She must have been feeling so overwhelmed by all the immediate focus. Was Komaeda doing that on purpose?

In any case, an interrogation like this would be better suited for - 

"The rope was _**still hanging**_ by the time Tsumiki-san left Grape Tower," the Imposter informed. "She spent the rest of the investigation calming down on the first floor of Grape House."

"Were you with her the whole time?" Komaeda scrutinised.

"It'd be neglecting a Leader's responsibility to leave her panicking alone."

"I guess that's a 'yes,' then..."

"I can confirm this!" Sonia declared. "As can Souda-kun and Tanaka-kun! I saw Togami-kun and Tsumiki-san exit Grape Tower together, followed a few minutes later by Hanamura-kun."

"You mean Hanamura-kun was alone in Grape Tower for a few minutes?" Nanami questioned.

"Who, m-me?" Hanamura asked. 

"He totally waited behind to be alone with Big Bro Hinata's body...! Disgusting," Saionji coughed, "pervert...creepo..."

"W-with a dead body?" Hanamura cried, outraged. "I recognise I'm a pervert, but I'm not _that_ depraved!"

"Whoa, so he recognises it?" Mioda gasped. "Self-awareness is totally rad! But seriously dude, have a little respect for the dead."

"I-I'm telling you, it wasn't anything weird like that!" The Ultimate Cook defended.

"I'm not going to say I _believe_ him," Koizumi began, "but if Hanamura-kun was alone in Grape Tower, we should probably focus more on whether he moved the **_rope_** on not..."

"Can't believe I accepted confeito from such a gross pig..." Saionji half-grumbled, half-croaked. She sniffled. "It's because Big Bro Hinata asked him to make it for me...!" Saionji let out a hoarse wail, that left more than just Koizumi wincing. Nanami rubbed her own ear.

"Quit whining..." Kuzuryuu glowered.

"If we're going to discuss the possibility of someone tampering with the scene, we should probably get the **_full story_** before we start making accusations," Nanami advised. "What happened after Hanamura-kun left Grape Tower?"

"Well, he went straight to the bathroom and didn't come out until we were called to trial," Sonia carefully explained. Nanami watched her closely for any signs of some strange symptom, but she saw nothing. Either Sonia was in perfect health, or very good at hiding her ailments. "Koizumi-san and Saionji-san came downstairs together, and went to the ladies' bathroom. Finally, Kuzuryuu-kun came downstairs, and then Nanami-san and Komaeda-kun passed through to take the elevator to Strawberry House. Nobody else entered Grape Tower after Hanamura-kun, or at the least, no one I noticed."

"Miss Sonia's right! Hanamura-kun was the last person to leave Grape Tower, so he must've screwed with the rope!"

Tanaka added, "And there is no reason a person would interfere with evidence unless they were trying to obscure something, no?"

"He's a cold-blooded k-killer!" Tsumiki shrieked.

"I'd like to think I'm at least warm-blooded...maybe even _hot_ -blooded," Hanamura purred, not even acknowledging the more serious accusation, though he was sweating profusely.

Was it because he didn't have anything to defend himself with? Was that sweat really a fever, or a symptom of anxiety? He couldn't possibly be the... _killer_... Not after everything he'd said to Nanami. Not after what happened during the Imposter's party. Not when he'd tried to _save_ Hinata's life.

No, there had to be another angle to look at this from.

"No one else could have moved that _**rope**_..."

"Tch. Why'd he fuck with the scene in such an obvious way, anyway? Fuckin' amateur..."

"I don't want to jump to conclusions, but it's definitely suspicious..."

"What if _**no one**_ moved the rope?"

"He's totally guilty. See him sweating like a pig?"

"What kind of pervert makes sex jokes at a time like this?"

"Guys? I said, what if **_no one_** -?"

"We already know he's capable of attempting murder, after trying to kill Komaeda-kun. It wouldn't be that far of a leap if he snapped and killed Hinata-kun."

"He's not even defending himself. That's basically a confession!"

" ** _Guys!_** "

Everyone fell silent and turned to look at Mioda, whose expression looked utterly fed up with them all.

"Ibuki-chan has a theory! Nobody moved the rope, or destroyed it, or replaced it, or did anything with it at all. The rope **_didn't move_**!"

Koizumi sighed. "Listen, I know you want to contribute, but don't just say random things..."

"M-maybe she has a p-point...? Uhm, I mean, we're only assuming the rope moved b-because we're treating Strawberry Tower and Grape Tower like the same place. B-but maybe what actually moved was **_the body_**...?"

"Shut your whore mouth...!" Saionji groaned. "There's no way Big Bro Hinata was moved out of Grape Tower without anybody seeing it. Like ten of us were outside the entrance nearly the whole time."

"Yeah, I kind of feel like we woulda noticed that..." Souda rolled his eyes.

"Even if the culprit concealed their presence with a cloaking spell, I would have seen through it with my all-seeing eye."

"How impressive!" Sonia swooned over Tanaka.

"Maybe Grape Tower and Strawberry Tower are the **_same place_**...but also **_not the same place_**!" Mioda said cheerfully. "That's totally plausible, right? And I don't even know the meaning of the word plausible!"

The Imposter pushed up their glasses, cringing. "Mioda-san, you're not really making _sense_ \- "

"I agree with her," Pekoyama declared.

"Eh, Peko? You're not really - "

"I don't think the rope was moved, but rather **_something else_** in the room. Think of it this way. If the rope didn't move **_down_** , something must have moved **_up_** to explain the difference between Strawberry Tower and Grape Tower."

Nidai scratched his head. "Huh? But how could something have moved _**up**_ if Hinata-kun's body was on the floor the whole time?"

"You're saying the **_floor_** moved, right?" Souda concluded. "Like an elevator or something... That way, basically the whole room would move up, but make it _look_ like the rope moved down."

"That's right," Pekoyama decided. "That explains how both Towers can be the same place and a different place at once."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Athletic trio vs chain!  
> More symptoms, or just grief?  
> A wild Mioda takes on the Final Dead Room!  
> *dun dun duuun!*
> 
> Also, sorry if the ending here seemed abrupt, but I didn't want to drag this chapter out since it was already the longest one so far.
> 
> I wanted to get the relationship between Strawberry Tower and Grape Tower out of the way as soon as possible, since it's something the audience already knows and I don't want you all screaming at the characters for not realising it throughout the trial. Once again, I find myself struggling with the balance of making the characters too smart or too dumb. Maybe I dragged this section of the trial out too long. Maybe they figured it out too quickly.
> 
> As for the moments where it looks like Nanami is going to say something and then someone else cuts in - as much as I love her, I wanted to give the other characters a chance to shine and figure some things out for themselves. Don't get me wrong, she's still crazy smart, but she also tends to speak up whenever everyone else is already stuck. And, they're not getting stuck yet!
> 
> (But she will shine, trust me. ^-^)
> 
> I can't fit the full list of Truth Bullets into this end note, so I'll put in the ones discovered this chapter. Everything discovered previously is summarised in ch3's end notes!
> 
> Hinata in Strawberry Tower: When Nidai, Owari and Pekoyama broke the chain granting access to Strawberry Tower, they were shocked to discover Hinata's body was there somehow. He was found lying on the ground with no rope around his neck.
> 
> Rope between door handles: Inside Strawberry Tower, the two doors opposite to each other were connected by a rope attached to the handles. Between both doors, the rope continued downwards into a noose, with a large length piled haphazardly on the floor.
> 
> Heartbeat sensors: According to Monokuma, the heartbeat sensors in the Tower prevent it from switching between Strawberry and Grape Tower while a living person is inside. Those sensors can detect anything as minute as a heartbeat or ticking clockwork. That's assuming he's telling the truth about them being the same place, anyway...
> 
> The Octagon: According to Monokuma, the Octagon contains various weapons and pieces of equipment useful for murder, as well as something called the 'Ultimate Weapon'. A person needs to pass through the Final Dead Room and complete a deadly challenge in order to access it.
> 
> Mioda's appearance: Just as Komaeda was about to enter the Final Dead Room, Mioda emerged frantically from the elevator explaining that she had already completed it. She was out of breath from running all the way to the first floor of Strawberry House.


	5. Palpitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who can be trusted?
> 
> (Everyone but yourself.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeeeeesh, just hit the two week mark. Sorry for the long wait guys! Been hard to motivate myself to write. I had about 3k words written out and then just sat on them while the other 2k eluded me T-T
> 
> Warnings at the end again ^-^
> 
> Also: just hit 69 kudos. Nice. (Srsly thank u all so so much your kudos and comments validate me and your validation feeds me)

"An elevator where the floor moves but the walls don't...sounds like a safety violation," Souda grumbled.

Koizumi sighed. "It doesn't seem out of character for Monokuma to violate our safety, considering...well, everything about this situation."

"Also, it's probably not a safety violation if the elevator doesn't carry living people..." Nanami added. "There's not really anyone's safety to worry about then."

"It doesn't carry living people?" the Imposter probed. "What do you mean by that?"

"She's probably referring to the **_h_** ** _eartbeat sensors_** Monokuma was talking about," Komaeda said in his snide, patronising tone. "Back when he wanted us to think Strawberry Tower and Grape Tower were connected laterally rather than vertically. He said the Tower wouldn't switch between Grape and Strawberry if it sensed something as minute as a **_living heartbeat_** or **_clockwork_**. If nobody can see it move from the inside, then we'd have a harder time reaching the conclusion that the floor rises and falls."

Nanami nodded. "Yeah. It's thanks to the apparent movement of that **_rope_** that we'd even realise something like that. And - "

"Now hold on a second!" the Imposter interjected. "That's just one hypothesis to explain how the rope moved, or didn't move. That doesn't mean the possibility of Hanamura tampering with the scene can be excluded."

"Y-you mean I'm not in the clear?" Hanamura gulped. "But I'm not guilty of anything!"

"Isn't it still more likely that Grape and Strawberry Tower exist at the **_same elevation_**? They're both located on the **_first floor_** , after all."

Hanamura flailed. "I-it's not even possible to move that rope! Didn't you see how high up it was strung? You couldn't see where it attaches at the top!"

"It's not out of the question that a person could **_climb_** that rope to the top, double the rope on itself and then rappel downwards in order to detach it."

"I'm nowhere near athletic enough to pull off something like that!"

At least Hanamura was in a well enough mindset to defend himself now. Nanami supposed he'd been too overwhelmed to put up a proper defence until Mioda's theory was proposed.

Still, the Imposter was unrelenting, arms crossed tensely over their torso.

"Inability is a weak defence. You can't _prove_ you'd be incapable of that maneuver, and since they're **_both on the same floor_** , you can't _prove_ that **_Strawberry Tower is located above Grape Tower_**."

"Ibuki-chan can prove it!"

"Y-you can?" Hanamura asked, hesitantly hopeful. He snivelled.

"Yup, yup! Ibuki-chan totally saw the proof when she went into the scary clown room! There was a big window - "

" _Scary clown room_? Are you, like, _five_?" Saionji scorned.

"My youthful vigour has nothing to do with this!"

"You're talking about the Final Dead Room, right?" Komaeda confirmed.

"Yeah, that thing! With the beepy puzzles and the clickity camera and the clickity gun and some weird stuffed bunny that wouldn't stop whining!"

Monomi cried out from where Monokuma had her hanging, tied up and swinging back and forth like a piñata. "You mean you could hear me the whole time and didn't respond?" Nanami's heart ached for her dear sister. She shot her a sympathetic smile.

"Wait, a _gun_?" Souda shrieked.

"Yeah, Ibuki-chan had to blow her brains out but when she pulled the trigger it went _click_ instead of _blam_ so Ibuki-chan survived!"

"You did _what_?" the Imposter asked sternly.

Mioda waved them off. "Unimportant! Anyways, Ibuki-chan finished the puzzles and went into an Octagon, and she counted all the sides up in rhythm - _pop, two, three, four, pop, six, seven, eight_ \- and then she looked out the window and said, _whoa, look at all those big tall trees down there_ , but she didn't think it was important until just now! 'Cause Ibuki-chan realised something totally crazy!"

"The _**Octagon**_?"

"Shut up and listen already - like an audience member for an orchestra, not a raver in a disco!"

The Imposter blinked and clicked their mouth shut.

Mioda grinned triumphantly, hands on her hips. "So anyway, that's why Strawberry Tower is above Grape Tower! Because the trees were **_down there_**! Did I get it right? Am I actually a genius?"

Sonia sighed. "Well, that's not really an explanation - "

"Oh, I get it!" Owari gasped. "The entrance to the Last Killer Place - "

"Er, _**Final Dead Room**_?" Koizumi corrected.

" - is on the _**first floor of Strawberry House, right**_? So that means the Octagon or whatever is gonna be around that area, too! But Mioda-san saw a buncha trees _down_ somewhere, so it's like, the Octagon's gotta be really high up! Which means the first floor of Strawberry House has also gotta be pretty _**high up**_! I think?"

Souda frowned. "Okay, I think I get it...but that doesn't necessarily mean Strawberry House is **_above_** Grape House. It could be that **_both buildings are elevated_** above the trees Mioda-san saw."

"Mioda-san, did you see anything else out that **_window in the Octagon_** that could help us to understand this?"

"Er, no..." Mioda rubbed her neck. "Ibuki-chan's not good at remembering what she sees, just what she hears... All she remembers is saying to herself, _whoa, look at all those big tall trees down there_!"

"Wait, so you don't actually remember _seeing_ out the window?" Hanamura asked anxiously.

"Nope!" Mioda answered. "Ibuki-chan also doesn't remember what the rest of the Octagon looks like!"

Koizumi looked almost broken. "Please tell me someone other than Mioda was able to enter the **_Octagon_**..."

"Well, Komaeda-kun was about to enter when we got called to trial..." Nanami winced.

Kuzuryuu scoffed, scratching his eye. "Of course Monokuma'd cut the investigation short so we gotta rely on the shoddy fuckin' memory of that music idiot."

"She's not an idiot," the Imposter retorted, though they didn't look much happier with the situation if their pained expression was anything to go by.

"Mioda-san, can I ask you something?" Nanami tried.

"Wassup?"

"When you exited the Octagon, where did you come out?"

"Eh, the ceiling?"

"Of where?"

"I..." Mioda narrowed her eyes, touched both hands to her temple and focused, "...don't remember! Ibuki-chan just remembers falling from the ceiling, because she swung her legs over the trapdoor and went, _wheeeee_! And then she ran straight to Chiaki-chan and totally missed everything on the way there."

Komaeda ran an agitated hand through his hair. "And to get there, you passed through the **_elevator_** , right?"

A loud gasp split the courtroom, drawing eyes to Sonia. "Ah, Mioda-san ran and took the elevator? I knew there was something I had forgotten to mention! I apologise, everyone..."

"Oh, that was Mioda-san?" Souda realised. "Yeah, I kinda...didn't register her running by so fast. I could have sworn I was just imagining things."

"Sorry, what are you talking about?" Pekoyama's eyebrows furrowed, metal hand clasping her flesh wrist.

"When Miss Sonia was giving her account of who she saw on the first floor of Grape House, she didn't mention it... We actually saw _**someone running through really fast**_ , from the stairs to the elevator, but I wasn't paying attention at the time, so I didn't catch who it was. It was, like, _right_ before the trial announcement, so I assumed it was just Monokuma or something."

"You saw someone running through and didn't say anything? That's suspicious!" Saionji declared, then once again lurched forwards, grabbing her podium in white-knuckled fists as she fought to keep her coughs down.

"Weren't you in there at the time, too? And you _also_ didn't see anything?" Owari asked.

Koizumi shook her head. "Actually, Yoko-chan and I were in the bathroom the whole time after coming downstairs, so we wouldn't have seen. I wanted to be somewhere quiet and uncrowded, for my headache, and Yoko-chan was in a fit of - "

"I was just there keeping Mahiru-chan company!"

Koizumi winced. "C-can you _please_ try to remember to keep it down...? Yeah, we were in the bathroom and, unless I'm mistaken, Sonia-san said Hanamura-kun was in the men's bathroom as well."

"The people in the room at the time were myself, Sonia-san, Souda-kun, Kuzuryuu-kun, Togami-kun, Tsumiki-san, and my Four Dark Devas!" Tanaka listed. "If I hadn't been so deceptively distracted at the time, I would have been able to identify the mysterious figure speeding through without difficulty."

"What were you distracted with?" Komaeda asked.

Tanaka flushed and pulled up his scarf. "It's nothing a mundane mortal like yourself would comprehend!"

"Tanaka-kun and I were performing a ritual to put Souda-kun's nerves at ease!" Sonia cheerfully supplied.

"I see..." Hanamura purred suggestively.

Tsumiki spoke up. "Th-the, uhm, the reason I-I didn't see Mioda-san either was b-because I was preoccupied with the a-argument..."

Kuzuryuu shot her with a fiery glare. "Are you saying it's my fucking fault you didn't notice your moron girlfriend running by?"

"I'm s-sorry! I didn't mean it l-like that, I w-was just explaining...!"

"There wouldn't have been an argument if Kuzuryuu-kun had just been more co-operative..." the Imposter sneered.

So those two had been arguing... That made too much sense. Kuzuryuu and the Imposter almost seemed diametrically opposed to one another. Kuzuryuu had refused to participate in the party, and seemed to take personal offence to the Imposter's self-imposed authority. Meanwhile, the Imposter just wanted everyone working as a unit, so that killings could be prevented. Perhaps with a little more information, they'd have been more capable of doing so... A pang of guilt struck Nanami, and she clenched her jaw.

"Just 'cause you guys are so insistent on bein' friends with Peko, that doesn't mean _I_ gotta work with you fucks, too!" Kuzuryuu growled, like an angry puppy. "Did you forget I'm more in the business of cleaning up crime scenes than investigating them?" He scratched his eye.

"It's hard to forget something like that," the Imposter replied smoothly. "Regardless, this conversation isn't productive to the trial. All that's relevant is that everyone on the first floor of Grape House was sufficiently distracted not to identify the person who ran through and took the elevator. But since no one is contradicting Komaeda-kun and Mioda-san's testimonies, it's safe to say that person was indeed Mioda-san."

"Why you-!"

Nanami swiftly cut Kuzuryuu off. The Imposter was right. Arguing right now wasn't useful. "It was definitely Mioda-san. She came out of the elevator just as Komaeda-kun was about to enter the Final Dead Room, and right before we were called to trial. But if you think about where Mioda-san came from, I think that can help us understand the overall _**structure of the Funhouse**_..."

Yes, it made sense. _Grxxe 3 cxxlxxg_. That's what Hinata was trying to tell them when he left that message in the elevator. And that strange drawing in the Crummy Room...

"Then Strawberry House must be located above Grape House," Tanaka concluded. "If the _**entrance to the Final Dead Room**_ is on the first floor of Strawberry House, and Mioda-san passed through the elevator to return to that same place, then the _**Octagon's exit**_ must be located in Grape House."

Souda's head began to nod of its own volition. "Right, that makes sense! If Strawberry House is on top of Grape House, and the _**Octagon**_ connects the two... Well, if you imagine taking the hexagonal shape of Grape House and cutting out the rectangular shape from Strawberry House, you get an _**eight-sided concave shape**_. And Mioda-san, you said you counted up all the sides of the Octagon, right? It definitely had eight walls?"

She nodded, then winced and grabbed her neck. "Totally! _Pop, two, three, four, pop, six, seven, eight_! Ibuki-chan remembers because she said it out loud."

"So basically, both Houses are actually the **_same building_** , and the first floor of Strawberry House is the fourth floor of the overall structure," Koizumi reasoned. "So then, it _does_ make sense that Strawberry Tower is _**above**_ Grape Tower."

"Which does in fact suggest that **_no one tampered with the rope_** ," Pekoyama finished. "So we can stop accusing people over it."

"Great, so that took us fuckin' long enough to figure out," Kuzuryuu grumbled. "Whoop-de-doo, we realised that no one was shit-for-brains stupid enough to fuck with a crime scene where they could have been caught. What a _productive_ use of our time," he added with a sharp glare to the Imposter.

They didn't look apologetic at all. "It was an important avenue to discuss."

Nanami had to agree. "Understanding the **_stucture of the Funhouse_** is going to be useful in thinking about what could have happened _**during the murder**_...I think. If we know how the culprit and Hinata-kun could have moved...that's probably going to help us understand what happened between them."

"If we want to establish a **_timeline of events_** _,_ " Koizumi said, "we need to know what happened to Hinata-kun and how he died. Let's discuss his injuries and the results of Tsumiki-san's autopsy."

"Mahiru-chan's so - " Saionji coughed, " - so smart!"

"O-oh, we're talking about th-that again? W-well, like I said, most of his injuries were mentioned in the **_Monokuma File_** already: there's th-the bullet wound in the right ankle; his left kneecap is sh-shattered and the leg is bent against the j-joint; there's b-bruising and swelling around his wrist; a-and then there's the bruising around his neck. N-none of that c-could have been lethal e-except for the neck bruising..."

"So he died from hanging?" Owari guessed. "Well that was obvious!"

Tsumiki forced an awkward smile, letting out a shuddering breath that sounded almost like laughter. "Well, that's...not _r-really_ true..."

Kuzuryuu sneered. "Yeah, you dumb bitch. Drop hanging snaps a person's neck. If there was neck bruising but no snapped neck, he was _**strangled or asphyxiated**_."

"A-although, it _is_ possible that hanging was the cause of the s-strangulation or asphyxiation..." Tsumiki added with a nervous glance at Kuzuryuu. "I-if rather than being dropped, the person was _**slowly lowered**_ , there wouldn't be enough force to b-break their neck, and the rope would instead cut off their a-airway and circulation... It would c-certainly be a slow and p-painful death..."

"Oh, I've got it!" Souda exclaimed. "He was knocked out or something, tied to the rope in **_Strawberry Tower_** , then the culprit went down to **_Grape Tower_** , lowering the floor so that he'd be strangled!"

Tanaka let out a dark laugh. "Naïve fool - recall the **_heartbeat sensors_** that were in the Tower. If Hinata-kun were still alive in Strawberry Tower, the floor would not move for access to Grape Tower."

"Could Hinata-kun have been hanged from **_Grape Tower_**?" Koizumi suggested. "Like, if the rope was tied that way in Strawberry Tower beforehand, and then Hinata-kun was taken to Grape Tower, where the noose would fall into place for him to be hanged... That makes sense, right?"

"That's a good suggestion," the Imposter said, "but it was difficult enough to take Hinata-kun down for the autopsy with **_two people working together_**. Assuming the culprit acted alone, it doesn't seem possible that they could have lifted Hinata-kun's unconscious body and hung it without some kind of equipment, like a stepstool."

Komaeda interjected. "Nanami-san and I didn't find anything of the sort, by the way. Unless I missed such important evidence with my worthless eyes!"

"If Ibuki-chan found a stepstool in the Octagon, she totally would have hopped up and down on it while squawking like a heron!"

"D-don't you mean, l-like a _chicken_? I think?"

"Probably! Anyway, Ibuki-chan didn't see any stepstools."

"Ah, I see... I guess my theory was wrong, then. Sorry guys," Koizumi sighed, looking slightly embarrassed.

"You're giving up on it so quickly? I expected more perseverance out of the Ultimates..."

"E-excuse me?"

"Don't make fun of Mahi-" Saionji doubled over, coughing into her sleeve.

Komaeda wore an unsettling smile. "How can you say your theory was _wrong_ when it's the only possibility? After all, the cause of death had to be **_strangulation from hanging_** , right? Come on everyone, if you all work together, I'm sure you'll figure out how it was possible!"

"Eh? Is he back to helping us...?" Souda asked.

"Or is he just trying to derail our conversation again?" Sonia continued.

"Th-the heavier bruising lined up with where the rope was tight around his neck, b-but there was some lighter bruising that was less defined..." Tsumiki pointed out. "I s-suppose it _could_ be possible that Hinata-kun was strangulated and _then_ hanged. P-perhaps using the same rope as a _**garrotte**_ , o-or something. S-so if he was dead beforehand, he could have been suspended like Souda-kun said..."

"I actually inspected the entire length of rope while investigating Strawberry Tower," Pekoyama informed. "A garrotte would have shown signs of wear, which the rope _**didn't have**_."

"Maybe a _**different rope**_ was used?" Kuzuryuu suggested.

Nanami frowned. "If there was another rope, Komaeda-kun and I didn't see it anywhere in the Funhouse."

"Ibuki-chan didn't find any in the Octagon either! Probably. Sorry guys, _real_ bad memory here."

"What if it was done by _**hand**_?" Saionji tried. "Or like, a chokehold from behind, or something." She rubbed a hand over her sore throat with a pitiful look. Tears began to well up once more in her eyes, as she added, "That'd probably hurt a whole lot..."

That was definitely possible. And if it was true, it probably meant the culprit had to physically overpower Hinata at some point... He might have been injured and sluggish at the time, but if the culprit really did have the strength to strangle Hinata by hand, that could narrow things down a little.

But even so, could they be so sure of the cause of death?

"Hey, Tsumiki-san. You said the bruising around the neck was the only potentially fatal injury that was **_mentioned in the Monokuma File_**. But there was something **_unmentioned_** , wasn't there?"

She smiled at Nanami, looking almost relieved someone else had brought it up. "That's r-right. He also had a _**puncture wound**_ on the back and left of his neck..."

"A puncture wound?" Owari repeated. Then, her eyes lit up. "I got it! He was stabbed in the back of the neck with **_that knife_**!"

"Eh, no," Souda said with an awkward chuckle. "The blade of the knife was completely clean."

"A-also, the p-puncture wound wasn't nearly large enough to have been c-cause by a knife," Tsumiki added nervously. "It was **_needle-sized_**. I a-almost missed it thanks to the heavy bruising a-around his neck, actually..."

"Do you think the killer did that on purpose?" Nanami asked. "Strangled him in the hopes it would cover up that puncture wound?"

"I g-guess that's possible..." Tsumiki said. Her expression brightened up. "Actually, now that you've said it, that sounds really likely!"

Kuzuryuu sneered at her. "Why do you sound so chipper all of a sudden?"

She flushed, trying to hold back her smile. "Ah, sorry if I'm being weird... It's just, if that **_puncture wound_** really was meant to be hidden, then me finding it turned out to be really useful!"

"You're already useful, Tsumiki-san. The way you cared for everyone during the Despair Disease is proof of that," the Imposter said, not quite smiling, but their expression wasn't nearly as severe as it had been. "Though it is nice to see you feeling confident in yourself."

Tsumiki flushed even brighter. "Y-you think so?"

"Jeez, if you two don't stop flirting, Ibuki-chan's gonna get jealous!"

Souda's brows furrowed. "Wait...jealous of which one?"

"So why would the culprit try and hide the puncture wound in particular?" Hanamura asked. "Hinata-kun had...quite a few injuries, after all."

Koizumi nodded her head in deep thought. "It's also pretty noteworthy that Monokuma left it out of the Monokuma File... That's gotta mean he didn't want us to know about it, or at least not right away."

"Just like the cause of death!" Saionji pointed out. "Both the **_puncture wound_** and the **_cause of death_** were left out of the Monokuma File, so...I bet they're the same thing!"

"Huh? But didn't we say he was probably **_choked by hand_** or something?" Nidai responded.

"That is kind of a leap in logic...to say that the puncture wound is necessarily the cause of death..." Koizumi reasoned, watching Saionji carefully in case of an outburst.

Tsumiki, however, jumped with excitement. "Actually, I think Saionji-san is right!"

Saionji snarled, slamming her hands on the podium as she leaned forwards to meet Tsumiki's eyes with her intense, intimidating gaze. " _Shut it, you dumb, ugly, cum breath_ \- Wait, what?" As soon as she realised what Tsumiki had actually said, her demeanour flipped straight around, her expression now one of pure, unadulterated confusion. "Did you just agree with me?"

"Between the _**sheen of sweat**_ and _**dilated pupils**_...if you don't discount them as due to Hinata-kun being dead, and consider them as symptoms in a living person, then it looks like..."

"He was drugged or something," Kuzuryuu finished. "That's what you're saying?"

"We already know one person with a penchant for drugging people, don't we?" Pekoyama said, eyes sliding to where Hanamura stood beside her, grabbing her sword's handle.

"W-w-w-wha'? Yer back ta suspectin' me?" Hanamura cried, momentarily allowing his accent to slip through before he regained what little of his composure could be grasped. Wiping more sweat off of his forehead, he swallowed and said, "For everyone's information, I only use oral drugs that can be added to a high quality dish without affecting the flavour - "

"Real great defence..." Souda sighed.

" - not injected drugs, and definitely **_not lethal drugs_**! I didn't even have sedatives, just aphrodisiacs, not that it would matter because after the whole party fiasco, Koizumi-san took it upon herself to flush my stash and I couldn't find replacements in the Pharmacy."

Koizumi scowled at Hanamura. "Are you saying you went behind my back to look for more aphrodisiacs in the Pharmacy after I already got rid of the stuff you had?" 

He gulped. "I, uh, feel very intimidated right now - and not in the good way...!"

"What an absolute fucking creepo!"

Sonia politely added, "I do not wish to make a hasty character judgement, but I have to admit it's conveniently suspicious that you've already drugged Hinata-kun once in our time here on this island."

Hanamura sputtered. "Not on purpose! It was intended for Komaeda-kun!"

"Even so, if his supplies were disposed of and Hanamura-kun was unable to find replacements, can we justify being any more suspicious of him than anyone else?" Tanaka pointed out.

"Yeah, 'cause he'd never **_lie_** about that." Kuzuryuu rolled his eyes.

"I definitely got everything suspicious that was in his room and the kitchens," Koizumi informed. "I've got a pretty good eye, so I doubt I could have _**missed anything**_."

"And the **_Pharmacy_** definitely doesn't store **_aphrodisiacs_** ," Tsumiki added firmly, "but there are **_sleeping aids_** , **_painkillers_** , **_antihistamines_** , stuff like that!"

Owari shuddered. "I don't know what that anti-ketamine stuff is, but it sounds dangerous!"

"But can we really be sure the victim was injected with a **_drug_**?" came Komaeda's smooth, confident voice. "After all, on the night of the party, I was expecting to drink **_paint thinner_**. I'm no Ultimate Nurse, but getting injected with something like that sounds pretty deadly."

"W-well, using p-paint thinner would actually cause **_local necrosis_** a-and **_chemical abscesses_** , which I d-definitely didn't see..." Just like that, Tsumiki's confidence diminished back to what it had been. Acknowledging Komaeda had to be upsetting to her, and when he wasn't putting in his usual effort to degrade himself, the condescension was palpable.

Souda suggested, "Then maybe it was _**bleach**_ or something?"

"Or perhaps a _**poisonous agent**_..." Tanaka added.

"Ooh! Ibuki-chan saw a buncha 'frigerators full of poison-looking stuff in the _**Octagon**_!" She scratched her head. "Eh, _**no needles**_ though..."

Kuzuryuu crossed his arms. "The killer probably used a fuckin' **_sedative_** so they could choke him out without worrying about a struggle."

"When I was checking the **_Pharmacy_** for 'love juice,' I did notice some things weren't fully stocked. A few boxes of **_sleeping pills_** and a bottle of some kind of **_muscle relaxant_** were missing..."

"Please never say the phrase, _'love juice,'_ again," the Imposter requested, cringing at the words.

"W-wait, did Hanamura-kun just s-say **_m_** ** _uscle relaxant_**?"

Koizumi planted both hands on her hips. "How recently did you check the **_Pharmacy_** anyway, Hanamura-kun?"

"Oh, let's see...about **_three AM today_**?"

" _So what you're saying is -_ " both the Imposter and Kuzuryuu said at once. They shot each other with an irritated glance and continued in synchronisation. " _What you're saying is - "_

The Imposter rolled their eyes. "Go ahead."

"I don't need your fuckin' permission to talk, asswipe!" Kuzuryuu bit back. "So Hanamura-kun, you're saying you went to the **_Pharmacy_** around **_three AM this morning_**...as in, around about the time frame the culprit would have had to pick up whatever they used, assuming they used a drug from the Pharmacy."

"I believe that's called, 'Suspicious as Fuck'!" Sonia said brightly, grinning at her complete understanding of the language.

"Oh dear...I just implicated myself again, didn't I?" Hanamura sighed. "Just because I went to the **_Pharmacy_** , that doesn't prove anything! I mean, the culprit could have taken what they used at **_any time_** before that, right?"

"A-actually, the last time I saw the _**Pharmacy**_ was a-around **_nine thirty PM last night_** ," Tsumiki offered meekly. "And since I'd been k-keeping stock of everything, I know for sure there were no b-bottles of any ** _muscle relaxants_** missing...

"A-and in fact, symptoms of a **_muscle relaxant_** ** _overdose_** can include excessive sweating and p-pupil dilation, and s-since Hanamura-kun said it was a **_bottle_** , th-that means it was p-probably the i-injected kind, rather than an o-oral pill...

"S-so if no one else has b-been using **_muscle relaxants_** , i-it's probably very likely that the c-culprit used it on Hinata-kun, r-right?"

"So that disgusting pervert used it to kill Big Bro Hinata!"

Koizumi ran an agitated hand through her hair. "Seriously, you're just hurting your throat more and more when you yell like that..."

More hasty accusations... Even if Hanamura really was guilty, they needed solid evidence to convict.

(And besides, she wanted to know exactly how it went down, for the sake of Hinata's memory.)

"Even if we're sure the culprit used a muscle relaxant on Hinata-kun, that doesn't prove Hanamura-kun was involved," Nanami reasoned, "but it does mean that the culprit was at the Pharmacy at some point between 9:30pm and 3am, whether it was Tsumiki-san, Hanamura-kun, or someone else that neither of them were able to see within that time frame. Maybe...if we go over the details of how the murder was carried out, that can help us figure out who could have done it."

"It's clear that the note was used to bring Hinata-kun to the _**Funhouse**_ during the night. The culprit wanted to kill him when very few people would have _**alibis**_ ," Pekoyama said.

Koizumi frowned. "I get what you mean... Even people who would have been sleeping over together could have individually snuck off while the other slept." Then, she brightened up. "Except Yoko-chan, because she can't dress herself!"

Saionji burst into another coughing fit, after which she whined, tears in her eyes, "D-don't go sharing personal details like that!"

"In any case, it's likely that Hinata-kun _**woke up in the night**_ , found the note, and answered the summon," came Tanaka's low, serious voice.

Owari tilted her head. "Wouldn't he have realised something fishy was going on? I mean, I'd be a little suspicious if someone was mysteriously trying to meet up with me, and _I'm_ an idiot!"

Sonia looked thoughtfully down at her hands. "Even if he didn't anticipate being...killed...Hinata-kun surely would have thought to _**let someone know**_ where he was going just in case, right? He was thorough like that! Would he really have broken the rules of the _**buddy system**_ without taking some kind of precaution?"

"I guess that's why he left the _**note**_ behind, instead of bringing it with him, so that Komaeda-kun would find it later!" Souda guessed.

"W-wouldn't he just...wake up Komaeda-kun instead?" Tsumiki stammered out.

Saionji gripped her sleeves tightly. "It's like he thought it wasn't urgent enough! Big Bro Hinata never expected to be killed, because he trusted all of us so much!" Her eyelids crinkled like dry raisins as Saionji burst into tears.

Komaeda cleared his throat. "Actually, and this is a bit embarrassing to admit...even if Hinata-kun wanted to wake me up, he probably _**wouldn't have been able to**_. He was understandably frustrated that my restlessness was starting to disturb his sleep, so he insisted I start taking _**sleeping pills**_. Which means...if Hinata-kun died because he couldn't wake me, then it's all my fault... _**I really am the worst of the worst!**_ " Komaeda declared, almost triumphantly, as though proving how _awful_ he was was some kind of victory to him.

_Komaeda-kun..._

"Whoa, you too?" Mioda exclaimed with wide-eyed amazement

"Yeah, it probably is all your fault, you psychotic weirdo!" Saionji sneered. "But at least we know why Hanamura-kun said there were _**sleeping pills**_ missing from the Pharmacy as well..."

"Y-yes, that makes sense...though you and H-Hinata-kun really should have c-consulted me if you were going to be taking m-medication..."

"So, assuming Hinata-kun followed the note's instructions, he would have entered the Funhouse during night time. Is it safe to say that he had to enter via Monokuma's... _interesting_ method of passing out and waking up in the same place everyone else did?" the Imposter questioned.

" ** _Ding, ding, ding!_** " Monokuma interjected. "Everyone entering or leaving the Funhouse goes through me, no exceptions! And they always wake up on the same floor."

"Wow, I didn't expect such a straightforward answer from Monokuma!" Komaeda exclaimed.

Nanami gave a slow nod. "That's a good starting point... If we know _**where**_ Hinata-kun woke up, and consider all the _**evidence**_ that was there, we can probably determine the _**order of events**_ that led to his...death." And hopefully, using that information, they'd be able to narrow down the culprit.

"Starting with what's obvious..." Koizumi began, "the _**bullet holes**_ , and _**blood splatter**_. I guess the culprit missed twice and hit him once."

"Must be a shoddy aim if they only got one shot in and it was the **_ankle_** ," Kuzuryuu scoffed. "The culprit probably knew where he'd wake up, and waited there with a _**gun**_."

" _ **Where**_ would you even get a gun?" Owari asked.

Nidai continued, "And **_why_** would the culprit wait for Hinata-kun to wake up?"

"Ooh, ooh, me again!" Mioda squealed with delight. " _Ibuki-chan totally saw lots of guns, then she tripped and fell on her flat-ass buns_ _!_ "

"Please, tell me more about these buns!" Sonia said fervently.

Tanaka bashfully fiddled with his scarf. "Or we could focus on the relevant details, instead..."

"That pretty much confirms it. The **_Octagon's_** supposedly stocked with murder weapons, and I haven't seen anywhere else a person would get firearms," Souda informed. "I doubt I could even make a shoddy one with the scraps available."

"So, the **_culprit_** took a gun from the **_Octagon_** in advance, and then waited on the **_third floor of Strawberry House_** for Hinata-kun to wake up. Then, they **_shot at him three times_** , missed **_twice_** , and hit him **_once in the ankle_** ," Hanamura recounted. "Then, I would assume Hinata-kun ran down the stairs of Strawberry House, in an attempt to escape."

"Looks more like he **_rolled_** , to me..." Owari shrugged. "I mean, the blood on that first set of stairs was a real mess."

"You make a good point, Owari-san!" Sonia declared. "If Hinata-kun had simply **_run_** down the stairs after being shot in the **_ankle_** , that wouldn't explain the **_bloody handprint_** that was left behind."

"I agree with Miss Sonia!"

"So the force of the initial attack sent Hinata-kun tumbling down the stairs, getting blood **_all over his clothes_** , and on at least one of his **_hands_** , as well. Then, in order to make a more elegant escape, he placed a bloody hand on the wall of the first landing to right himself, thus leaving behind a **_handprint_**."

"From there, it's likely that Hinata-kun **_jumped_** down the rest of the staircase, over the railings, in order to move faster," Nanami guessed. "I actually saw Owari-san doing that when she initially ran ahead to look for Hinata-kun. That's why there are **_right shoeprints_** in the **_middle_** of each set of stairs, as well as some blood on the **_railings_** , too."

"Except Hinata-kun **_had a bullet in his ankle_** when he did it," Hanamura pointed out.

Saionji's eyes welled up. "It must have been so **_painful_** for Big Bro Hinata! He was really running for his life!"

"When a person's life is threatened, the resulting rush of adrenaline can push them beyond their limits," Sonia said. "It's truly remarkable what adrenaline can help a person accomplish!"

"That adrenaline... That **_fighting spirit_**...!" Nidai choked out. "That's why we've got to honour Hinata-kun's memory and find his killer!"

_Fighting spirit..._

_Yeah, that's Hinata-kun, alright._

_You weren't just fighting for your own life, but for all of ours, too._

_Even for your killer._

_All you ever wanted was to stop the Killing Game..._

_I promise, Hinata-kun, not to let your efforts, your faith in me, go to waste._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TWs:  
> -Discussions of hanging and strangulation methods involving rope and hands  
> -Discussions of medically overdosing and symptoms thereof  
> -Non-graphic discussions of firearms and gunshot wounds
> 
> DISCLAIMER, I AM NOT A DOCTOR NOR AN ULTIMATE NURSE AND I AM SO SO SO SORRY IF ANYTHING IN HERE IS SO HORRIBLY INNACURATE THAT IT MAKE YOU WANT TO SCREAM.
> 
> I flip-flopped on the exact drug I wanted to use but, surprise surprise, the Internet isn't great with researching overdose effects because it keeps trying to convince me to talk to a counselor. I settled on 'generic muscle relaxant' because I figured it was safer than a specific, name-brand drug, and I honestly have no clue what dosage would be parge enough to kill a person. So, for the sake of fiction, we're going to say one average-sized syringe would *definitely* be enough.
> 
> Also, I totally didn't take an interlude to bs as to why Sonia didn't mention Mioda running through the first floor of Grape House last chapter, definitely not because I forgot or anything- (im really sorry pls dont kill me)

**Author's Note:**

> So as you can see, this is a canon-divergent AU...but exactly how that is is a secret for now. ^-^
> 
> Please, please let me know if there's anything I should tag/warn; I'm very new to this!


End file.
